Triangle
by StAnDiNgContrapposto
Summary: When the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey land on a matriarchal planet, they become embroiled in solving the planet's mystery, and perhaps even their own complicated relationships with each other. 10/Rose Lots of Doctor whump.
1. Sweet and Sour

A brand new story since my other fic Be the Silence is drawing to a close! I had to get this plot bunny out of my head now or I'd never get it down but I won't abandon Be the Silence, I'm working on that as well.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything relating to Doctor Who.

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**Triangle **

**Chapter One**: Sweet and Sour

"Time or space, time _and_ space? In space past, in space future? Earth past, Earth future, Earth present? Or, I dunno, I suppose we could hang in vortex?" The Doctor lounged against the foam sofa beside the console, his legs stretched out in front of him, one arm slung against the back of the sofa, the other holding a bottle of what looked like blue beer. "The universe is your oyster."

"Oh, I dunno, you pick." Rose, clothed in a pair of black stirrup leggings and a purple jumper, settled on the opposite side and slung her bare feet into his lap.

In mid swig, the Doctor nearly choked as he doubled up. "Watch where those feet are going, Miss Tyler!"

"Oops! Men are all the same, human or alien." She grinned at him, poking her tongue out the side of her teeth.

"Meaning we both feel pain? I'd say _yes_." He took her feet by the ankles and repositioned them on his lap. "What's with the leggings anyway?" He retracted one elastic stirrup and let it go. Rose yelped and laughed.

Another voice approached them. "Oi, Rose I think this belongs to you." Mickey Smith strode up to the console and threw something small pink and lacy in her direction. "Got mixed up with my stuff."

The Doctor raised a single eyebrow, his face otherwise unreadable. Rose blushed deeply. "Mickey, can I talk to you _privately _for a moment?"

She led him into the room that had been designated as her bedroom for the moment. "Why did you have to embarrass me like that?"

"Don't think it don't realize why the Doctor gave you this bedroom." Mickey shoved his hands in his pockets and walked around the bed as though inspecting how tidy it was.

"Don't avoid the question!"

"It's the closest room to the console—where he is."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Rose, I've told you before, he's just like any other bloke and you're just gonna get hurt."

"What do you mean, _any bloke_?"

"Listen, it's hard enough to sit around while you bend yourself around the Doctor like some bitch in heat—" He was cut short when Rose drew back her hand and slapped him.

Her hand shook and she looked like she might hit him again. Her eyes stung, and her face burned with anger. She shoved the pink knickers at him instead. "Keep it." She spat, "Something to remember me by."

Mickey stared back at her, his face thunderous, until she spun on her heals and left the room, slamming the door.

The Doctor caught her when she nearly collided with him. "Whoaaa, where are _you_ headed?" She buried her face into his suit jacket, hoping to hide her tears, and encircled her arms around his waist. He grinned and hugged her back. "Can't argue with a free hug, only I got up to make some tea, fancy it?"

She nodded into his chest. He chuckled and patted her back. "Then you're gonna have to let me go."

When she refused to detach, he began to walk forward. She jigged backwards in compensation. "Goodness, it's like having a walking blonde tumor, or a large and beautiful tick—and I don't often say that."

Rose giggled but clung on as he took short steps slowly into the kitchen.

"Though there is a planet in the Malteser…"

"Malteser?" She said, her voice muffled.

"It speaks!" He cried in mock surprise. "Yes, well, you're in the Milkyway, they are in the Malteser."

"Mmm, sounds delicious."

"We-ell," He said as though seriously considering the assessment. He reached for two mugs then stopped and put a hand to her head, idly stroking her hair. "Do you think Mickey wants a cup?"

Rose froze and held him tighter. "No."

"Alright then." Taking the hint, he dropped the tea bags into both cups as well as any conversation about what may have happened with Mickey.

"Are there more galaxies or planets named after chocolate? Is there Wispa or Crunchie?"

"Hmm, well there's Confection... And in that galaxy, they have a road on planet Nuttella called—"

"Don't tell me…"

"Quality Street." They said in unison. Rose grinned widely, enjoying the sensation of his chest moving with his laughter.

"So they named the planets after sweets." Rose said.

"What came first, the chicken or the egg?"

"The planet or the sweet?"

He lifted the kitchen sink tap labeled "boiled" and filled both mugs with boiling water. Setting them down to steep, he retreated and began the battle of peeling a reluctant Rose from his body.

"Can we go to one of the planets with the candy bar name?"

"Well that depends."

"On?"

"On whether you will release me or not."

Reluctantly, she loosened her arms and withdrew. His face contorted as he looked at her.

"What?"

He held down his laughter and pointed to her forehead. "Y-you've got a button."

Rose put a hand to her forehead and felt the deep indentation on her forehead. The Doctor put a hand to his jacket then frowned. "It's wet. Have you been crying?"

"No." She lied easily. "Must have… I dunno, drooled."

Mickey Smith paced Roses bedroom, determined to find evidence—of what, he was not sure of. Proof that the Doctor was using Rose in some sordid way? Evidence that the Doctor would leave her?

He pushed the door open and marched past the kitchen. He caught a glimpse of the Doctor and Rose parting as though they had been holding each other. He looked away. It was so glaringly primal, he thought bitterly, the urge to win dominance, but he could not deny the feelings inside him. He wanted to give in to instinct and fight for his chance.

Suddenly, the TARDIS floor jolted and Mickey was thrown against the wall. Fantastic. Now, knowing the Doctor and Rose, he would be stuck on some alien planet completely at the mercy of his rival.

"The TARDIS has never landed like this before!" Rose gasped. The console was above her and she and the Doctor lay amid the grid of the walls.

"Ah. We've landed sideways apparently, no problem, I can adjust her later. Lets have a look, shall we?" The Doctor grinned eagerly as he stood and helped Rose to her feet. They walked carefully across the rounded wall of the TARDIS in the direction of the door.

"So this is supposed to be like a candy land, yea?" She waited while the Doctor climbed out of the door, enjoying the view she had of his backside while he struggled to get his long frame through.

He stopped midway and called, "Erm, not how I remembered it actually." He stood and helped Rose out. "Bit less sand. We're right under some kind of cliff though." He leaned back to take in the precipitous mound of sand that stretched in both directions.

Rose crawled out of the TARDIS and kept his hand as she stood. A vast expanse of sand met her eyes. "Where are we?"

The Doctor pointed in one direction. "Must be civilization nearby."

"How do you know?"

"In a super clever Timelord sensory way."

"Fair enough. What if you're wrong?"

"I'm never wrong. And even so, don't you wanna explore?" He grinned goofily at her.

"Course I do!"

They had only just set off when the Doctor shed his jacket. "Blimey it's hot." Sweat gleaned on his forehead and nose. "and I have a lower body temperature. You must be roasting."

"I'm not wearing any layers! I can't take my clothes off!"

The Doctor gulped visibly. "We-ell. In a life or death situation, surely you will? If it gets too hot don't even hesitate. Get back in the TARDIS and change then."

"Doctor!"

He had just removed his tie to let it hang on his neck when he turned to see what Rose was pointing at. An edged weapon was pressed to his neck. A woman, shrouded in white but covered head to toe in mud held the spear to him. "Male." She shouted. "Male. Male."

"Is the TARDIS translating?" Rose whispered. The woman glanced at her but seemed more concerned with the Doctor.

"Oh yes, all she is doing is repeating my gender—" he was cut off when the spear was pushed further, causing him to lean away, his arms raised, his expression alarmed.

There was a rolling crash the Doctor and Rose whipped around. The TARDIS was buried in heaps of what had once been a steep cliff and now large hill of sand. The woman leapt and turned the spear so that the staff was pressing against the Doctor's neck.

"Mickey!" Rose suddenly remembered and clapped her hands to her mouth.

The Doctor grinned sheepishly. "Oh... I forgot about him. He'll be fine, he's in the TARDI—" The woman pressed the staff firmly, cutting off his speech. The Doctor raised his hands in surrender but at this, the woman kicked the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel.

After a sudden inspiration, Rose jumped and pressed the Doctor's arms down to his side. "She thinks its threatening."

Immediately the woman dropped the spear, let him go and stood before Rose. She looked pointedly at her then spoke, "Dominant?"

Rose hesitated then nodded. "Yes, I am." She glanced at the Doctor who looked up at her with a twisted smile. "Guess I'm _your_ boss today." She murmured to him.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know if you think!


	2. Down the Air Shafts

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So sorry this is late, but ever since I've been back at school, (my last year of college!) I've had very little time to write!

Previously:

_The woman pressed the pole firmly, cutting off his speech. The Doctor raised his hands in surrender but at this, the woman kicked the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel._

_Rose jumped and pressed the Doctor's arms down to his side. Immediately the woman dropped let him go and stood before Rose. She looked pointedly at her then spoke, "Dominant?"_

_Rose hesitated then nodded. "Yes, I am." She glanced at the Doctor who looked up at her with a twisted smile. "Guess I'm your boss today." She murmured to him._

Chapter Two: Down the Air Shafts

Rose noticed that the woman must be a couple inches shorter than her but her compact body and muscular shoulders looked threatening. The mud that was caked across her skin revealed her very tanned skin and blue eyes. Her dark hair looked as though it had been left unkempt for so long that it had matted.

"What's your name?" Rose asked, eyeing the spear nervously.

The woman approached her with square shoulders and let the hand holding the spear relax. "Coastal Guard A."

"_Coastal?"_ The Doctor exclaimed. The woman leapt to him, her fist raised, but Rose leaped in front of him.

"Do _not_ hurt him. I'm dominant, remember? He's allowed to talk, and walk, and whatever else he wants to do." Rose stared down at the small woman, her eyes wide, unblinking and protective. The woman held her gaze, then broke it with a nod. "So," Rose continued, relaxing as the Doctor stood. "What's your name?"

"Coastal Guard A"

"But that can't be your name, can it?"

"My name is Coastal Guard A."

"Right, well I'm Rose and this is the Doctor."

The woman raised the spear when the Doctor raised his hand in small wave. "Move yourself and your male." She gestured in one direction with her spear and the Doctor and Rose quickly obeyed.

* * *

Mickey Smith wandered into the sideways console room, tripping slightly on the wall fixtures. "Rose?"

He made his way to the door and pulled it open. A wall of sand met him. He put a hand out to touch it but the TARDIS seemed to be protecting him from a potential avalanche of sand with a force field. Rings of motion bloomed from under his hand as the protective layer rippled under his touch. Mickey spun as something seemed to click into place in the console. Suddenly, the Doctor's voice filled the room.

"This is emergency protocol forty…ehh, well it's pretty high up there. Fact of the matter is: the TARDIS is surrounded by some kind of force and senses a benign presence of someone other than myself."

Mickey stumbled from the door and found a hologram of the Doctor standing sideways on the deck directly above him.

"Allow the TARDIS to right herself by splicing the internalized electromagnetic stabilizers with the bio-retrograded emissions axle, thus propelling her into materialized fragments in the correct field of orientation."

Mickey stared dumbly and the hologram Doctor pointed toward the console. "That button there."

Mickey put a hand to the red button.

"No, the yellow one." Said the hologram with a sigh.

He groaned. "Even his damned hologram is condescending." He slammed his fist down onto the yellow button and the TARDIS jerked dramatically.

* * *

Coastal Guard A, marched Rose and the Doctor through the dunes of sand. The Doctor, who had tried to carry his jacket, was forced to wear it so that the woman would be able to see his hands at all times. Sweat glistened on his face and his neck burned.

Rose, in her jumper and long leggings, struggled clumsily through the sand in her flats. Her face was bright red and her eyes glazed over. Her chest felt as though it were being crushed with the weight of the material and her head pounded. Black spots erupted before her vision and her stomach twisted and sank.

"Hang in there, Rose." The Doctor whispered from behind. Suddenly, her legs gave out and her knees hit the sand. The Doctor leapt forward and scooped her up from behind.

"How far is the site?" The Doctor said urgently. The woman raised her spear. "Oh, give it a rest, would you? My friend is in serious trouble and if you don't answer me now, there's no accounting for what I might be capable of." His eyes burned. The change in the woman was dramatic. She shrank back and stared at him in shock and fear.

She pointed a shaking finger in front of her. "Over the hill."

"Right." The Doctor sprinted up the dune before him, holding Rose close. When he reached the top he skidded to a halt and surveyed the sight before him. "You lied to me." He breathed. Nothing but vast sand stretched for miles. His knees trembled.

Before he could collapse to his knees, he felt a peculiar sensation of dissipating sand around his converse trainers and he dropped.

* * *

Mickey opened the TARDIS door hesitantly then stepped out. "Bloody Hell." He gazed around, one hand shielding his eyes from the harsh sun.

He ventured further out into the expanse of bright sand. "Rose? Doctor?"

He could not have known that the Doctor and Rose had had the same experience when the ground opened beneath his feet.

* * *

The Doctor held tight to Rose as he fell. After what seemed an age, he landed on his back with a heavy thud. His mouth hung open as he gasped for the air that was knocked from his chest. His eyes and nasal passages burned and the back of his skull ached. Rose's body was draped over his and he pushed his own pain out of his mind. Ignoring his dizziness, he lurched into a sitting position.

They had fallen through a muddy rectangular shaft. A square of light marked the place where they had fallen through. Mud had splattered when he landed and he furiously swept his now sticky hair out of his eyes.

Noticing how cool it was, he lay Rose gently down in the mud. He glanced apologetically at her flushed face. "Please forgive me for this."

He gathered her jumper by the hem and pulled it up and over her head. Next he pulled her off shoes and stripped the tight leggings.

Taking a handful of the cool, thick mud, he packed it methodically around her pulse points, and the down the sides of her torso staining her white bra. He blinked, trying not to notice the way her breasts rose and fell with her breath, straining against her bra. It was strictly for medical purposes anyway, he reminded himself. He _had_ to monitor her breathing.

* * *

Mickey reached a hand out as he fell and grabbed on to something that felt like metal. He yelled at the pain in his shoulders as his arms were nearly pulled from their sockets. Looking down, he saw a series of metal semi circles protruding from the muddy wall of the shoot and down into darkness.

"Rose?" He called, feebly.

"Male?"

The answering male voice startled him. "Ye-es…"

"Oh, thank Goddess. Come down here, hurry, you're not supposed to be in the air shafts."

* * *

"Rose." The Doctor breathed from his squatting position at her feet, his voice pleading. "You'll be fine. It's only a bit of heat. Come on, wake up for me."

He was so busy caring for her, he did not notice the sound of a door opening. He bent forward again onto his hands and knees and massaged more of the cool mud under her arms and around her thighs.

Without warning he was seized from behind. Glancing around in shock, he found that two very large women held his arms on either side.

"I'm not about to harm anyone, but that's my friend there and she's sick from the heat…"

"Rape." One woman grunted and the Doctor growled through his teeth in frustration. "Oh no, no-no-no-no, NO. Listen to me, she's sick, she needs help…"

Something hard hit the back of his head and he fell forward and into blackness.

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A/N: So I FINALLY got this chapter done! Please review!


	3. Pain

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Thank you guys for the reviews! I really really appreciate them!

Thanks so much to elvespiratesandcowboysohmy, WeepingAngel123, Namesake, and Cinder-Bella-4Eva !!

I'm so sorry I've been neglecting Be the Silence—I have terrible writer's block with it. I've written a quarter of that chapter and I'm still working at it!

Previously: _Without warning he was seized from behind. Glancing around in shock, he found that two very large women held his arms on either side._

"_I'm not about to harm anyone, but that's my friend there and she's sick from the heat…"_

"_Rape." One woman grunted and the Doctor growled through his teeth in frustration. "Oh no, no-no-no-no, NO. Listen to me, she's sick, she needs help…"_

_Something hard hit the back of his head and he fell forward and into blackness._

Chapter Three: Pain

­

The stinging of the sun burn on her face greeted Rose as she woke. Though her body felt comfortably cool, the burns caused her skin to shiver disagreeably. The silence around her was palpable. Then something stirred and was followed by a thumping noise. She frowned, having difficulty opening her eyes and curious of what was happening around her. Dark shapes passed over her eyelids and there was the rustling, thumping sound of a struggle. She tried opening her eyes, but they would not cooperate.

She heard the familiar sound of the sonic screwdriver. Briefly, she relaxed, her mind picturing her bed in the TARDIS, the sounds of the sonic screwdriver as the Doctor worked at the console lulling her to sleep. It was warm and safe. She was curled in the pink comforter her mother had bought her, and the large chamomile pillow that the Doctor had found for her when she had been ill. Any moment the Doctor would come bouncing in to show her something and she would pretend to be asleep in the hope that he would approach her quietly and perhaps stroke her hair.

The sonic screwdriver ended and there was a thud followed by a muffled groan. This did not add up. Rose wiggled her fingers and found it difficult. Instead of her soft blankets, she felt sticky mud. There was another thud and Rose managed to open her eyes.

The Doctor was being restrained by two large women with shaved heads. She gasped at the sight of him and tried to cry out, only to find that she had no voice. For once in this incarnation, the Doctor also did not have a voice. A large amount of a cloth that may have once been white had been forced into his mouth. Another strip of fabric, tied around his head, held the gag in place. His face, framed with mud, seemed to be swelling on one side of his jaw. Rose licked her lips and tried in vain to speak again. The women pushed the Timelord onto his stomach and the other held him with one booted foot in the small of his back. Rose could see his face, livid and pained, straining against the gag in his mouth. They bound his legs at the knees and at the ankles. The woman holding him leaned her weight onto her foot and ground into him, her muscular legs straining. He shut his eyes tight, in obvious pain, and Rose gathered her strength. The other woman, finished with binding his legs, grabbed a fistful of his hair and jerked his head upward. His Adam's apple jumped as he tried to swallow but he began to convulse as though choking. The woman reached behind her with her free arm and drew a knife. Rose stood too fast. Her head spun and her vision grew dark, but she put on the sternest face she could find.

"As the owner of this male, I order you to let him go." She shouted at the women. Her voice came out harsh, but the message was received. All three women dropped him. "Get out of my way, and out of my sight!" She screamed at them in manic desperation to aid the choking man. She charged forward and they scattered like frightened animals.

She dropped down to her knees and with shaking hands, tore at the cloth. Rose cursed her fumbling fingers but she managed to rip the fabric from his face. Gently, she drew the wadded cloth from his mouth and found it to be larger than she had expected. It was red with blood and when it finally emerged from his mouth, pink strands of blood and saliva followed it. The Timelord gave a series of shuddering, wet gasps and coughed up the blood that had flowed toward his lungs. Rose struggled with the binds around his wrists, knees, and ankles. Finally, she managed to free him. He drew his arms up near his head and laid them on either side palm down, as his breathing began to stabilize. He rested his head on its side and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

Rose pulled his muddy jacket up and away from his lower back. She un-tucked the relatively clean shirt from his trousers and revealed his alabaster skin. In harsh contrast with the white flesh, made already imperfect by small moles and freckles, an angry red mark spread around his spine. Purples and blues were already beginning to appear closer to his spine. She grazed her fingertips over his injury and he shuddered at the touch.

"It's not broken, don't worry." He said breathlessly, his eyes still closed. He swallowed. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Her voice was rough and much higher than she had anticipated. She wondered what would have happened if his spine had broken. Would he have died instantly, too fast to regenerate? Her chin began to tremble of its own accord and she inwardly scolded herself. She had to be strong. "Can you stand?"

"Yes." He slowly rolled to his side then came up to a sitting position with a grimace. He leaned back against the mud wall, his eyes still closed.

Rose wiped some of the mud from his face, and he opened his eyes to her concerned gaze. "You've even got it in your eyelashes." She said, stroking a gently fingertip over them. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, this is nothing." He said and wiped his bleeding mouth. "I just need a few moments to let my body heal its self." He leaned his head back against the wall and shut his eyes.

Rose dropped next to him, draping an arm around his shoulders and hugging him close, burying her face in his shoulder. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"Nah. If she slit my throat I'd have plenty of time to regenerate while I bled out."

Rose stiffened at his words.

"Sorry." He murmured. "How are you feeling? You gave me a scare earlier."

"I'm fine. Only… how did I lose my clothes?" She looked down at her once white knickers and bra. "It's a bit cold down here now."

The Doctor leaned forward and began to carefully draw his suit jacket from him.

Rose put a hand on his chest, gently pushing him back against the wall. "I'll get my clothes. You concentrate on healing so we can get out of here."

* * *

Mickey Smith clung to the metal semi circles attached to the mud wall. "Go willingly into a dark pit that leads who knows where? No thanks." Still looking down, he reached for the next ring to climb up. The mud on the metal caused his fingers to slip and suddenly he was hurtling downward again.

* * *

Rose released the Doctor and left him where he was sitting against the wall to hunt for her clothes. On the Doctor's direction, she searched through the mud and found her now well disguised jumper and leggings. Cringing, she pulled them on, grateful for any warmth on her now trembling body.

"Didn't realize how cold it was down here!"

"All this mud beneath a dry, barren land…" The Doctor lost himself in thought, his eyes unfocused. "There must be a water source close by… a large amount of water I'd say. But _is _it water?" He glanced up at Rose, now fully dressed and pulling her jumper tighter around her.

"Come here." The Doctor opened his arm wide and gesticulated. Rose rushed gratefully to his side and curled against him.

"You okay?" She said into his shirt.

"I'm always okay." Rose drew back a little to look into his face. His mouth was set firm and thin, his brow was creased, and the lines of his face were prominent. She licked her thumb and wiped some blood from his chin.

"You don't look it."

"I can always count on you for an ego boost." His attempt at humor fell flat by the look on his face.

"Does it hurt so badly?"

"Oh, I've had worse."

"I'll take that as a 'yes' then."

"So what do you make of these women?" He said, suddenly changing the subject. "Why were they so scared of you? I mean, no offense, but you're all pink and yellow and harmless."

"Harmless to _you_ maybe_._ Touch my Timelord and my bestial ape instincts kick in."

The Doctor raised an eye brow, a small smile twisting the corner of his mouth. His face changed suddenly and his hand flew to his breast pocket. "My sonic screwdriver!"

"What about it?"

"They took it! They took my sonic screwdriver!" His lips curled wistfully. "Ah well. I'll make another one. We need to find a way out of here." He made to get up and Rose scrambled to help him.

When he had risen he grinned weakly at her. "I'm fine, Rose, honestly."

"You're too pale." She said trying to pull his arm around her shoulders. She pressed against his side and he yelped raising his arms to protect his side.

"J-just a bit tender there. I'm good, I'm great, I'm perfect, okie dokie lets get out of this mud pit and find Mickey the Idiot." He clapped his hands together and rubbed them. "Onwards and upwards? We-ell, eventually upwards hopefully but onwards for now?"

Rose eyed him suspiciously. "You're sure your okay?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his mud thickened hair, causing it to stand up even higher than usual. "You will make a fantastic mother one day. Let's go!"

He took her hand and she followed him into the dark caverns ahead.

Instead of watching the forbidding blackness ahead, she stared at the back of his head, consumed in her thoughts.

* * *

Mickey landed with a thud and a splat. He groaned and shook clumps of mud from his arms. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust but when they did, he found that he was sitting in the center of a large group of men, all of whom where naked and staring at him in ill disguised shock.

"Hullo." He said, waving a meek hand. He glanced all around and noticed the bars on one side of the mud-walled room. "Just my luck to land myself in prison." He muttered grumpily.

The men around him stared up at him with haunted eyes. One of them, a man perhaps in his forties, motioned to him. "I'm M724,000, but you can call me Rob."

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A/N Hope you're still liking it! Please review!


	4. Straight Talk

Wow, what a fast update! Are you proud? (Basically I've had no life this week) I have a very, very busy weekend ahead of me though so I thought I'd finish this up now. Enjoy!

Thanks so much to elvespiratesandcowboysohmy (your reviews are like cake to me—sweet, filling, and addictive. I crave them. Hahaha.), Cinder-Bella-4Eva, Namesake, and novacancymind! You're encouragement really helps me write, without it I wouldn't be able to keep the story up if I didn't know what people were thinking, thanks guys so much!

Previously: _The Doctor took Rose's hand and she followed him into the dark caverns ahead._

_Mickey landed with a thud and a splat. He groaned and shook clumps of mud from his arms. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust but when they did, he found that he was sitting in the center of a large group of men, all of whom where naked and staring at him in ill disguised shock._

"_Hullo." He said, waving a meek hand. He glanced all around and noticed the bars on one side of the mud-walled room. "Just my luck to land myself in prison." He muttered grumpily._

_The men around him stared up at him with haunted eyes. One of them, a man perhaps in his forties, motioned to him. "I'm M724,000, but you can call me Rob."_

Chapter Four: Straight

Their eyes gradually began to adjust to the dark of the tunnel. Rose clutched the Doctor's hand tightly. The tunnel stretched in a straight line for what seemed like miles.

"We're getting closer to water. I can smell it." The Doctor raised his free hand to the wall and rubbed the mud between his fingers.

"Why are we whispering?"

The Doctor turned around and Rose could just make out his innocent expression and raised eyebrows. "We're creeping through a cold, dark, muddy, tunnel. Just seems like the right thing to do."

"Ouch!" Rose stopped suddenly.

"What's happened?" The Doctor halted.

"Stepped on something." Rose put an arm around his shoulders for balance as she lifted her injured leg.

"Haven't you got shoes?"

"Very observant I see."

"How'd I let you leave the TARDIS with no shoes? Moreover, why _did_ you leave the TARDIS with no shoes? Rule number one of space travel don't wander off, rule number two and maybe even more important than rule number one, always leave the TARDIS with proper footwear. The worst you could possibly do, and let this be a warning, is break both rules in one go: wander off with no shoes. I'd have to put you in a mental home—most people who wander off with no shoes have sort of glazed expressions about them and chatter angrily about cats and dental floss."

"I did have shoes! I left the TARDIS in my little black flats, you know the ones?"

"Rose. I may be a different species, but I'm still a man. 'Course I don't know your little black flats!"

Rose smacked his shoulder she was holding, cringing with pain. "More to the point Doctor, _I've got something very painful in my foot_."

The Doctor crouched down at her feet and put his palm to the ground. "Stones." His eyes went out of focus momentarily as he was lost in thought. His eyes refocused suddenly and he snapped his head back up to look at Rose. "Besides, when have I ever even seen your shoe collection? You could have rooms full of shoes for all I know."

"What about the time I woke up in the middle of the night while we were staying outside Mum's flat and you were rooting around in my wardrobe? Thought you would have had a peek at my shoe collection then."

The Doctor rose from the ground and pointed a finger at her. "_That_ was because I'd lost my shaving cream."

"And the most logical destination: in Rose Tyler's wardrobe."

"Well how should _I_ know you don't ferret things away in strange places?"

"Who was your last companion, a kleptomaniac? Come to think of it, I didn't even know you had shaving cream."

"How do you think I have these boyish good looks and soft cheeks? Oh, you need shaving cream if you want silky smooth skin—it conditions _and_ protects from damage caused by the razor, _and—"_

"Now I find it _really_ hard to believe you don't know fashionable shoes. Wouldn't be surprised if next time I wake up to find you kitted out in my clothes."

The Doctor shuddered at the thought. "Not a chance. They wouldn't fit me. Plus… not really my style."

"Oi." Rose shoved him lightly and the Doctor made a face.

"Anyway," He continued, his face haughty. "Before any more cheeky comments, let me make it clear that I am one hundred percent, all the way, completely and utterly, all that can be defined as manly and straight. I've got proof." He paused for second. "That came out wrong."

Rose's face contorted as she contained her laughter and her face flushed scarlet. "What ever you say."

"Pardon?"

"So the stones yeah? And the one in my foot that's now throbbing?"

"Mmm, yes, the stones mean we're getting closer to their...habitation."

"We're getting closer to their _lair_." Rose corrected as she squinted down the tunnel ahead.

"Oh did you have to use that word? Who knows, maybe they are very nice people…just a bit misunderstood."

"Doctor. They bound you up and tried to cut your throat."

"A lot misunderstood."

"Are you going to help me or what?"

"Oh, right." He bent, picked her up easily, and settled her on the floor against the wall. He sat opposite her and took her injured foot in his lap.

"You could have told me to sit down." She grinned at him in obvious enjoyment of the treatment. She tried to meet his eyes but he was concentrating on pulling his glasses from his breast pocket.

"Could have. Saved time this way." He dug a hand into his trouser pocket and withdrew a headlamp.

"You've had that all along while we were walking in the dark?"

"Yea, I've got loads of stuff in these pockets." He sniffed with a cock of his head and strapped the headlamp to his hair causing his hair to stick out ludicrously. Rose squinted as he turned it on and the bright light flooded the tunnel.

"You look ridiculous."

"So do you, covered in mud and shoeless."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him as he directed the torchlight to her foot and began gently wiping the mud off.

"Tiny, little, insignificant, albeit pointy, rock." The Doctor said lightly and plucked it from the base of her big toe. A dot a blood bloomed in its place. She pulled her foot back out of reflex. "But I'm sure very painful." He said, his smile twisted as he tore off his glasses and the headlamp and stuffed them into his mysterious pockets.

"Oi, I may not have been beaten up by Ms. Hard and Ms. Harder over there but it _is_ painful!"

He mock pouted at her then swiftly scooped her up again, holding her to his chest with one arm under her knees and the other around her back. "Your humble servant is here, madam, with the best solution for your distressing lameness. Allons-y?" He began walking down the tunnel, his trainers now crunching on the stones.

"You don't happen to have a warm blanket in your pocket?"

"Now let's not get greedy Ms. Tyler."

"Oh, think of a nice hot cup of tea…"

"Still cold?" He frowned down at her and noticed that she was shivering in his arms.

"And _you're_ even paler than you were before."

"Press on, shall we?"

"Change the subject, shall we?"

* * *

Rob extended his hand to Mickey and he took it, grateful for a cultural similarity. "'Name's Mickey."

"Where are you from Mickey?"

"Far away, probably… London?"

"Oh, right, London, thought I recognized the accent. I had an aunt who lived close to there in Newcastle. I'm from Philadelphia myself."

"Newcastle's not close to London at all actually."

"Everything's close in that country from my American perspective. How do you guys do it all cramped on that little island?"

"You're American? Are we… this might sound daft but are we on… earth?"

Rob snorted and scratched at his ginger beard. "Been wondering that myself. One day, God, it must have been five years ago, I was in a yacht with my girlfriend, Lisa, on a Caribbean vacation. Next moment, I'm being attacked by butch lesbos. Found out pretty soon that they are unfortunately _not_ lesbians."

"What happened to Lisa?"

"I never found her. If she's here, I don't know what they did with her." His eyes glazed over and Mickey was suddenly able to see that this man had been trapped here for as long as he had said.

"So, what's with this place?" He said hurriedly. "Is this a prison?"

"This is one of the compartments where they keep men. There are hundreds of them. This one is for unclaimed men from 30 to 40. I'm due to be upgraded actually to the 40 to 50 section. How depressing."

"What do you mean 'unclaimed men'?"

"Well the claimed ones, depending on how rich their owner is, have better lives, more freedom, you know. We're just breeding stock, really."

"Sorry?" Mickey's eyes widened.

Rob opened his mouth to speak when the sound of foot steps were heard echoing through the hall.

* * *

"You better not fall asleep on me." The Doctor said quietly as he marched along the tunnel, his brow creased as he searched around him. "If you do, who knows what they'll do to me if they find me holding your limp body."

Rose stirred at this and nodded. Though they were both caked with mud, and cold in a dark tunnel, Rose could not help the overwhelming feeling of safety that came from his tight hold.

"He-ello, what have we here?"

Rose looked up at the sound of the Doctor's voice and followed his gaze. The tunnel ended in what looked like a round door.

"I'm going to put you down," he whispered, "I think you need to show your face first. Careful where you tread." He slowly let her down. "I'm right behind you."

Rose nodded and took a deep breath wondering what would be on the other side of the door.

* * *

A/N This seems like a good place to stop… I'm a bit evil, aren't I? Please Review!

So I got a little carried away with the dialogue in this one. For some reason they just kept responding to each other and their chatting in my head is getting in the way of the actual story! So sorry about that! (and no I'm not hearing actual voices... haven't gone completely nuts yet)

Oh and I'd really appreciate if you'd let me know how am I doing in terms of dialect. I've been to the UK a few times, and I have family there, but I'm American so it's hard to know how convincing I am in writing this. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!


	5. Animalistic Tendencies

While I am consuming roughly an entire box of Quality Street, I figured I might as well make some use of this window of time while I'm scarfing and write!

Thanks so much to all of you wonderful people who have reviewed! Hopefully I have managed to respond to all of you, if not, I definitely will next time!

* * *

Previously:

"_Well the claimed ones, depending on how rich their owner is, have better lives, more freedom, you know. We're just breeding stock, really."_

"_Sorry?" Mickey's eyes widened._

_Rob opened his mouth to speak when the sound of foot steps were heard echoing through the hall._

_Rose looked up at the sound of the Doctor's voice and followed his gaze. The tunnel ended in what looked like a round door._

"_I'm going to put you down," he whispered, "I think you need to show your face first. Careful where you tread." He slowly let her down. "I'm right behind you."_

_Rose nodded and took a deep breath wondering what would be on the other side of the door._

* * *

Chapter 5: Animalistic Tendencies

The footsteps reverberated through the dark passageways beyond the barred walls and Mickey could not help the growing feeling of trepidation as it began to ignite his fight or flight instinct. His eyes grew wide and a cold sweat broke around the back of his neck. His legs trembled slightly where he knelt as though preparing to leap from danger.

The shadow beyond the bars shifted and revealed itself to be a round door as it slowly swung open. The light that bounced from the air shaft, to the opening door, revealed a second door on the other side of the room.

"Mickey!" The woman, covered in mud, poked her head out of the door and Mickey squinted at her in shock.

"…Rose?"

"Yeah, of course, who'd you think?" She emerged fully from around the door and ran to the bars. At her entrance, a murmur went through the crowd of men but most seemed too weak to look.

"What happened to you? I can barely recognize you. You're all over mud."

"Long story. How did you get in there?"

"Fell in! This is Rob… he's from Earth, Rose, but this can't be Earth can it?" Mickey pointed to Rob behind him but before he had introduced the two, the Doctor strode out from behind the door.

"Ah, Micketty Mick Mickey, just the way I like you, behind bars!" He grinned at him and pointedly put his arm around Rose.

Rose escaped his arm by dropping to her knees swiftly and surveying the place where the iron met the stoned dirt floor. The bars went deep underground. She looked up at the face of a man who sat on the other side of her. He, like the other unknown men in the room, was naked and thin. His eyes stared at her with something she would almost call lust. Looking behind him, she saw more of the men gazing at her hungrily.

She frowned in confusion. These were men who were malnourished, mistreated, and locked up. Why should her body be their first priority? Surely they should be screaming to get out.

She looked up at the Doctor and Mickey, intending to voice this, when she saw what they were doing.

The Doctor stood on one side, his legs evenly spaced and grounded. His arms hung at his sides and his hands were curled into fists. His knuckles were stark white as though he were squeezing with all of his strength. His mouth was set slightly downward in a severe line and his eyes stared unblinkingly at Mickey.

Mickey in turn reflected the Doctor's stance. He was leaned up against the bars, each hand grasping one with white knuckles. His head, between the bars, stared at the Doctor.

"Is this… some sort of staring contest or what?" Rose said hesitantly. They were squared off like animals ready to tear each other apart. She slowly got to her feet as though if she moved too fast she might set them off. She cautiously stepped closer to the pair, suddenly slightly fearful as though she were about to get between two very angry dogs.

"I don't know what's happened here, but why don't both of you just take a step back." She looked from one man to the other. Neither seemed to notice her presence.

She put a hand slowly to the Doctor's shoulder. Without breaking his eye contact with Mickey, his arm shot out with lightening speed and pushed her backward and behind him. She gasped at the suddenness of the movement and stumbled to her knees as his arm made contact with her chest. She gasped, alarmed and offended that the Doctor would react in such a way.

"Listen, I don't know what's going on here, but you two better cut it out now." She gasped, her voice trembling slightly. She sat back on her heels and rubbed the place on her chest where the Doctor had shoved her.

The Doctor moved to stand in front of her, his eyes still trained on Mickey. Rose couldn't see, but rather, heard Mickey react. In seconds the Doctor had closed the few feet that stood between them.

Rose jumped to her feet. The Doctor's hands were wrapped around Mickey's throat. Mickey leaned to the side, his hands on the Doctor's forearms, so that the Doctor's left wrist would be forced to press against the bars. The Doctor yelled through his teeth and was forced to release him.

"Stop, stop it!" Rose tried to pull the Doctor away as he made for his second attack, but the flailing elbows and hands of both men as they fought, made it impossible. The Doctor grabbed hold of Mickey's head and pulled it downward but his opponent brought his knee through the bars and into his groin.

The Doctor released him and stumbled back before falling on the stones and vomiting.

Rose stayed where she was, breathing heavily as though she too were fighting. She watched both men in shock and horror. Mickey panted and wiped at the blood that ran from his nose. His eyes still burned as he looked at the Doctor's form.

The Doctor shuddered and gasped from his position on the floor. He raised his head to look over at Mickey. His eyes were wide with shock. "Mickey, what happened?"

As Rose looked at the man behind the bars, she saw the anger fade from his eyes. He blinked. "I… I was so angry."

"Me too." The Doctor took a deep breath through his nose and moved his mouth as though tasting the air. "Hormones. There are hormones in the air. Testosterone. Well, specifically Tx39. A lot of it. If I'm right... and I always am, then I know exactly where we are...more or less."

Rose clapped a hand to her face. "I'm not gonna grow a beard am I?"

The Doctor smiled. "It's not human testosterone. It doesn't affect female humans. The hormone will graft itsself to the majority. If there is estrogen here, that means you, Rose, may feel it. Oh... maybe Mickey too. Micketty-Mick, are you feeling a touch of PMS over there?"

"What?" Mickey frowned.

"Nothing, it's nothing." The Doctor continued. "Human's have a balance of both testosterone and estrogen—both sexes have it. Timelords, with our physical selves so close to those of humans, have lower amounts of testosterone and estrogen, but its still there. It's what ignites the sex drive and what spurs reproductive instincts such as protectiveness, and violence to other males who pose a threat. Timelords were always more interested in the mind than the body... our bodies come and go. But more to the point, though it's not nearly as strong usually in me than in humans, the hormones coexist. There are only a few planets where this is not the case. The sexes are so different on some planets that each only has either testosterone or estrogen. It makes for a dramatic difference between the sexes and can also have bad consequences."

"What sort of consequences? I always thought that was it, one or the other for us." Said Mickey in a nasal voice, pinching his nose slightly to stop the bleeding.

"Think about it. Every male so pumped full of testosterone that their anger is set off instantly. Males so conditioned through instinct and hormones to protect their mates that they kill each other off… Think about what could happen, the rape, the murder…" He got slowly to his feet and grimaced.

Rose rushed to help him as he shakily found his bearings.

"Thanks Mickey. I'll be feeling shockwaves down south for days." He grumbled as Rose began to remove damp, muddy jacket.

"How's your back feel?" She pulled the untucked shirt up and surveyed the map of dark bruising midway up his back. The swelling had reduced but the bruises still looked painful. She put a hand to his lower back below the bruise and massaged it slowly. The Doctor groaned in pleasure as her fingers kneaded his sore back.

He frowned a minute then reached a finger down to scoop some of the mud from his trousers. He raised it to his mouth and tasted it. He spat it out immediately and made a face. "It's in the water, and there's something else." He closed his eyes briefly as Rose's hand worked its way up, avoiding the bruise. "Yes, right there." Rose smiled and rubbed out the knot in his back. "As I was saying, there's something else in here, what is it…?" He tasted his finger again. "Ah. There it is, Estrogen. That would explain your sudden maternal instincts, Rose. But why would a planet be so consumed with hormones?"

Rose paused and bit her lip, knowing full well it wasn't maternal instincts that drove her to touch the Doctor. She wasn't sure estrogen was to blame for her urge to care for him. The fact that the Doctor assumed she was under some sort of influence bothered her. She was not sure he even noticed how much she cared for him and if he did, he did not reciprocate her feelings. Anger flared suddenly at his arrogance for leading her around, teasing her, pretending not to notice. She turned to face him. "Do you know what you did earlier to me?"

The Doctor stared at her.

"You pushed me to the ground like a brute."

"Rose, I…I didn't think I'd be affected like that. Being a Timelord, I thought—"

Rose slapped him across the cheek. "Superior species, yes, I know. You boss us around and its all airs and graces but the truth is, you're just like any other bloke—" She clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh my God. Did I say that?" She turned to Mickey, who mouthed, "I told you so."

The Doctor had the grace to look ashamed. He stared at the ground, one hand on his stinging cheek. He took a deep breath and murmured, "Rose… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to push you, and I don't mean to be insufferable." He slowly met her eyes. "Tell me the truth, did I hurt you?"

Rose shrugged and shook her head. "More the principle I guess."

The Doctor nodded and pulled her in to a gentle hug, rubbing circles on her back. "I don't ever want to hurt you, Rose. If I gave way to my feelings, I'd lock you up in the TARDIS when it got dangerous, but you're so capable, so smart, that I know I want you by my side when it gets dangerous. It's selfish of me."

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as the words she needed to hear more than anything were murmured in her ear. "Thank you," She said, with a tremor.

"And I hate to say this Rose, as brilliant as you are," he proceeded cautiously. "But I think we need to move from this room. The truth is…I think the estrogen, eX39, is affecting you a bit strong too."

She drew back, slapped him again, and jumped slightly at her immediate reaction.

"That one I was prepared for." The Doctor said with a sigh.

"Oi! Don't forget about me." Mickey shouted with a huff.

"Nah," the Doctor waved a hand in his direction. "I like you there. You're a dangerous animal, I'm not letting you out."

"Doctor." Rose chastised, a half smile curling her lips.

The Doctor looked from Rose to Mickey and shrugged. "I haven't got my sonic screwdriver! I can't!"

"They like me. They obey me when I tell them to do things. I will just have to get your sonic screwdriver so you can let these poor men out." Rose said, smugly.

"On your own?" The Doctor looked skeptical.

"On second thought, better not leave you two alone. I don't want to come back to half a mangled Doctor."

"Are you suggesting that Mickey would win? _Mickey_ would beat the last of the Timelords in a fight?"

Mickey sniggered. "I've got bigger muscles than you, Doctor."

Something twitched on the Doctor's face and he glared at the other man. "Allons-y, Rose." He put a hand to the small of back to signal that she should walk. As they exited through the other door, the Doctor's hand slipped a touch lower then was prudent. He looked back at Mickey and was met by a vitriolic stare.

* * *

A/N Awesome, another chapter written! There will be more about the men and Rob in the next chapter. I know this one is lacking in the new character, but he would have just gotten in the way!

So, I've got loads to do for finals at my university so updating may not be a possibility for a week or so. _However_, if what happened today is any judge, when I mean to write my term paper and end up writing Doctor Who and stuffing myself with Quality Street, then there may be another chapter sooner. Oh, procrastination.

Hope you are still enjoying this! Please review!


	6. Out of Control

Thanks for the reviews guys! You really keep me motivated to write!

(And yes, I meant to write my term paper again, and instead ended up writing DW. curiouser and curiouser)

Thanks to KittyKatZorse, xxDoctorInInxx, WeepingAngel123, Whirlwind421, fantasyfeme, and SciFiGeek14!!!!

* * *

Previously_: __"They like me. They obey me when I tell them to do things. I will just have to get your sonic screwdriver so you can let these poor men out." Rose said, smugly._

"_On your own?" The Doctor looked skeptical._

"_On second thought, better not leave you two alone. I don't want to come back to half a mangled Doctor."_

"_Are you suggesting that Mickey would win? __Mickey__ would beat the last of the Timelords in a fight?"_

_Mickey sniggered. "I've got bigger muscles than you, Doctor."_

_Something twitched on the Doctor's face and he glared at the other man. "Allons-y, Rose." He put a hand to the small of back to signal that she should walk. As they exited through the other door, the Doctor's hand slipped a touch lower then was prudent. He looked back at Mickey and was met by a vitriolic stare._

* * *

Just a quick warning, this chapter will border on M.

And here comes the fun part…

Chapter 6: Out of Control

"It was like that with me too, at first." Rob put a hand on Mickey's shoulder.

Mickey sat against the bars where he had slumped when the Doctor and Rose left. "Why are there so many hormones?"

Rob shrugged. "Makes sense though, what that guy was saying. Maybe that's why there're no men here…maybe they've killed each other off."

"Did you just get used to it?"

"Well, we live with it for a while. When one of them wants to breed, they take one of us from the cages. We're not in as much demand as the twenty to thirty year cage, thank God. I've had to make the trip once though." His eyes were distant.

"What happened?" Mickey was transfixed, his eyes wide in horror.

"I was taken down the hall. In the direction that your friends just went. There's a room—it's the breeding room. They basically take advantage and you want it too… I guess what that guy was saying about the hormones makes sense then. They must pump it through. I'll tell you what though, they may act tough, but their scared of us. If that guy was right, and they were so violent, that could be why they have to act so tough…"

"But why would they want to "pump it through"? Why would they want to kill off all the men of their own kind? And anyway, couldn't they have just poisoned them if they wanted them dead?" Mickey jumped up with a start. "I have to get out of here."

"There's no way out until one of them comes and I think they have some sort of gathering right now."

"There's gotta be a way." Mickey said, determinedly. "If the Doctor and Rose went through that door then they're gonna be hit hard by those hormones." He put a hand to the back of his neck, his eyes searching the ground as he thought. "The Doctor wanted me dead before. I'm sure he doesn't mean it—it was the hormones—but what if he tries anything with Rose? What if he takes advantage of her?"

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor, that's his name."

"I tried to escape." For the first time since he had met him, Rob's flippant exterior broke and tears began to pour down his cheeks and into his beard. "I tried non-stop the first year here. All I want is my girlfriend. I want Lisa back, I want my _life _back."

"We'll get you out. We'll take you back to Lisa. We'll free all the men trapped like animals in these things." Mickey yelled in fury and slammed his weight against the bars. They would not budge.

* * *

The Doctor closed the door quietly behind them. Another dark tunnel stretched before them, illuminated only by two small pyres on either side. The Doctor coughed into his arm. "It's getting thicker," He said, his voice muffled in his sleeve. "The hormones, I can taste them, it's so strong."

Rose peered ahead but could only see the vague smudges of more pyres far ahead.

The Doctor coughed again into his sleeve, his eyes watering. "No ventilation in here, that's why it's so strong, no air shaft. And where is everyone?"

"I'm not complaining," Rose said, walking between the two pyres. "Haven't exactly had good run ins with the ones we've met so far."

"Those were guards though, they've got to be hard. Maybe the others are very warm, friendly people." He coughed harder, squeezing his eyes closed as he heaved dryly. "Bllimey, it's thick."

"Yea, warm, friendly people who lock men up in cages." Rose walked slowly over to him and put a hand on his back. "You all right? You're still very pale."

"It's just the hormones, my body is reacting to it like an invader. It's been coming on for a while now." The Doctor froze. "Rose… what are you doing?"

"Just asking how you are! What do you think I'm doing?"

"And do you usually have your fingers down men's trousers while you're asking that?"

Rose jumped and gasped as she looked down. One hand was fingering the hem of the Doctor's trousers, toying with the button of his fly. She quickly withdrew her hands and clasped them behind her. "I…I'm so sorry." She wondered if it were possible to die of embarrassment. Her face burned unbearably hot.

The Doctor on the other hand, looked calm and if anything, even slightly bored. She couldn't help a twinge of annoyance that he was so unaffected by her actions. "Do you remember what I just said about my body's reaction to the hormones?"

Rose shook her head, her face horrified. "It's just… blank. I remember asking you if you were all right and then you asking what I was doing."

"It's not your fault," He said, empathetically. "It's the hormones. It's affecting you strongly because you're human. It shouldn't be too bad for me, I have more control." He lowered the arm that he coughed into and gave her crooked grin. "Don't worry, Ms. Tyler, I won't let you take advantage."

"What's this about you having control? How would you explain you trying to kill Mickey over there?"

"Rose, you're doing it again."

She shook her head as though to clear it and blinked. The Doctor gently removed her hands and buttoned his fly. "I don't know… what's happening to me. I don't remember walking over here… Last thing I remember, I was standing on the other side of the tunnel." She looked at her shaking hands and tears began to sting at her eyes. "Doctor? What's happening to me?"

The Doctor took her hands firmly, his eyes warm and caring. "They are alien hormones, your body isn't used to them. As soon as we're in a more ventilated area, I promise, it won't be like this." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a tissue. He wiped her tears, careful not to smudge the mascara that she worked so hard on, before giving it to her for her nose.

"I'm a wreck. A complete wreck with no control." She said, her voice quavering.

The Doctor pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing her back.

Rose drew a deep breath, her nose pressed to the Doctor's neck. The masculine musk laced with his unique scent, caused her to take another deep breath as though she could not get enough of it. She stood on her toes to reach his neck better. The rich scent of the TARDIS, tea, sweet marmalade, very faint traces of banana, and the familiar, biological musk generated by his body made her head feel slightly dizzy. The dizziness was somehow pleasurable. She was suddenly very aware of all the places their bodies were touching. Her cheek and nose skimming lightly on his neck, her arms around his neck, his hands on her back, her breasts and thighs firmly pressed to him. She suddenly, desperately needed to know what he tasted like. With her face so close to the flesh of his neck, she opened her mouth slowly. She could feel the scent radiating from his skin like heat and she could taste it. Needing more, she put her open mouth to his neck and pressed her tongue against him. She managed to suck his flesh in to her mouth once before she was rudely forced back.

"Easy there, tiger." He said, good-naturedly, unruffled by what had transpired. He held both hands on her shoulders and locked his elbows when she tried to move to him. He smiled slightly at the sight her trying to walk forward while he easily held her back. "Look at those eyes," He mused as he watched her. "Unconscious to the world." He frowned as he peered closer into her eyes. "Completely clouded with desire. You're somewhere in there, Rose, but right now you have literally one thing on your mind. I'll tell you what though, wish I had my sonic screwdriver. I'd love to analyze your head right now." He sighed. How long would she be in this stupor? How was he supposed to continue through this labyrinth and constantly fight her off?

He sighed again as he held her away from him. Her mouth hung slightly open and her tongue lightly touched her bottom lip. She stopped fighting suddenly but the Doctor still held her shoulders, wondering if this might be her way of luring him into false pretenses. Instead of struggling again however, she brought her hands up and began to remove her leggings.

"Oh, no. No-no-no-no-no." The Doctor lurched to grab her hands but she pulled them away, and pawed frantically at him, ripping the shirt from where it was tucked in the front of his trousers. He managed to calmly grab hold of her wrists. "Honestly, how many times have I had to tuck my shirt in today because of a certain someone who can't seem to let me keep it on?"

She growled in frustration as he held on to her wrists firmly. "I know I'm irresistibly sexy," he said as he held her from him, "but it's a dark, cold tunnel, and we are both covered in dried mud. Is this really your idea of romantic?" She lunged against him and he repositioned his hands when she twisted, not wanting to break or strain her wrists. "Apparently it is. How primitive. "

She dropped down suddenly and the Doctor had to double up to follow her wrists as she lay on the ground, still struggling against his hold. He felt as though he were holding a writhing, angry animal. Her eyes were closed as she tried to escape and then she began to yell.

He dropped to his knees, one on either side of her, and crossed her wrists against her chest, holding them firmly. "Rose, listen to me, you need to relax." Her chest heaved as she panted but she seemed to calm down. She bared her teeth slightly and the Doctor realized with a start that she was enjoying his dominance. "No, Rose," He said firmly, as she tried to swing her hips up. "Wake up. I know this isn't you."

She lifted her shoulders from the ground, leaned forward, and bit his arm. The Doctor cringed and shifted, accidently loosening his hold on her left wrist. She scrambled to her feet and her arm flew to him. With a strength he didn't know she posessed, she raked her nails down his chest, ripping the buttons off as she did so.

Not wanting to hurt her, but not knowing what else he could do, he pushed her away from him hard.

She landed heavily on her back and lay for a minute, gasping.

"Oh, no." He whispered, and ran to her. Kneeling down, he saw her eyes staring up at the ceiling, clear from the clouded desire and confused. "Rose?"

She whimpered and her mouth opened and closed. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and down into her hair.

The Doctor felt both his hearts jump in panic, scared that he might have done her injury. "Rose, talk to me, please."

"Doctor, what happened?" Her voice quivered as he stroked his palm down the side of her face.

With his other hand he drew a thick piece of cloth from his pocket and pressed it gently to her nose and mouth. "Hold that there." He instructed. "Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so…" Her voice muffled by the cloth.

The Doctor scooped her up immediately. His mouth was set in a grim line. "Then we're moving."

He strode down the hall as fast as he could, wanting to get to an air shaft as fast as he could before the highly concentrated estrogen that was so lien to her body could take possession again.

He looked down and saw Rose staring ahead of her, tears coursing down her cheeks.

He passed a door on his right and paused in front of it. His nose twitched and he sneezed to the side. "Hold your breath for a second, Rose." Rose obeyed and pressed the cloth firmer to her mouth. He moved closer to it and reached his tongue out delicately to touch the door. He gagged as he pulled away.

Rose made a face from behind the cloth and the Doctor nodded as though confirming his suspicions. He turned and resumed his brisk walk down the tunnel. He sniffed the air as he walked. "You can breathe now."

Rose removed the cloth and took a deep breath. "What was that?"

"Behind the door? It was a… lounge."

"A _lounge_?"

"Of sorts…"

Rose fell silent as she grasped his meaning.

Another door appeared on their left and the Doctor pressed an ear to it. He opened it hurriedly. They squinted as a small room met them, lit brilliantly from the airshaft above. The day light hurt their eyes after the darkness they had become accustomed to. The Doctor let Rose slide to her feet and raised a hand to shield his eyes, peering upward. "Damn." He whispered, pulling his shirt tighter around him and buttoning his jacket. Bars were placed securely at the entrance, twenty feet above them, and there was no way of reaching them. Looking up made him dizzy. He closed his eyes for a second. Cold sweat slowly began to drip down his neck and into his collar. He shivered at the feeling. His _skin_ was suddenly hurting. He put a hand to his head and felt the perspiration that soaked his hair. He knew exactly what was happening and he cursed his lack of foresight.

"Doctor…" The tremor in her voice cause him to look down at her. She was sitting with her knees drawn to her chest and leaning against the wall, her hands trembling uncontrollably in front of her. "Why is there blood on my hands?"

* * *

A/N I can't believe I was able to update this fast! I'm so proud of myself, and at the same time, terribly worried that I should be focusing on my paper…

Well, if I don't get another chapter up this weekend, I should be able to next weekend.

Thanks for reading, please review!


	7. Red

Got all A's in that dreaded art history, so thought I'd reward myself with some writing time! So at long last, here's the next chapter!

Thanks for all the reviews guys, they mean so much to me, thanks for your support and I hope this story lives up to your expectations!

I hope this is okay, I wrote and put it up pretty quickly. I just wanted to get something up before christmas since I've kept you guys hanging for so long.

Previously:_ "Doctor…" The tremor in Rose's voice caused him to look down at her. She was leaning against the wall, her hands trembling uncontrollably in front of her. "Why is there blood on my hands?"_

* * *

Chapter 7: Red

The Doctor turned his back on Rose, unbuttoned his jacket, looked down, and cursed quietly.

A splattering sound drew Rose's attention and she stared as he wrapped his shirt and jacket firmer around him and turned back around, his eyes apologetic. The lines in his pasty face seemed etched deeper than before.

He stared at her hands. Dark red blood shone across her finger tips. Some of it had begun to dry, settling into the creases of her hands. She got up, her eyes fixed on him, her hands before her.

"Rose…I'm sorry" He fought the bile that burned up his throat. "I…I think I'm bleeding out." He failed to hold back the small groan that escaped his partially opened mouth. He clutched his arms further around, holding his jacket tight as though hugging himself.

The red of her hands swam before him. The Doctor tried to moisten his lips but his tongue was too dry. Rose was frantically saying something but he couldn't hear her. Suddenly the ground was approaching fast and he saw her jump forward, bloody hands outstretched, ready to break his fall.

* * *

"They're going to hear you." Whispered Rob frantically as Mickey emotionally melted down against the bars.

"I want them too."

The door that the Doctor and Rose had exited through, opened dramatically. A tall woman carrying a spear entered.

Mickey gulped when he saw the menacing woman.

"Who's making all the racket?" A light, sensual voice echoed in the room and Mickey looked the door.

Behind the woman who must have been a guard, came a petite, and very beautiful young woman. Her body was draped in transparent white gauze. Her slender, pale face, golden hair, and soft, dark blue eyes did not seem to fit with this place of mud and darkness.

"Well hello there," She purred when she saw Mickey. "A newcomer?"

He couldn't help but noticed her flesh through the material of cloth and he looked back at Rob. "So it's not all that bad, then, is it?"

"Have you been assigned a number yet?" She said, stroking one finger over his hand where it rested on the bars.

Mickey shook his head. "I'll volunteer for whatever you want."

"A volunteer?" The woman looked at the guard, then back at Mickey. "My name is Charlotte and you may come with me." The guard bent and lifted a section of the barred cell open, wide enough for him to walk through.

* * *

The Doctor fell heavily into Rose, his head flopping over her shoulder. Her knees buckled on impact and she eased him down and against the wall as best she could with more gravitational help than she would have liked. Hastily, she wiped the sticky blood on to her shirt.

"Rose." He breathed, from his position with his back against the wall. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have told you I was hurt sooner." He squeezed his eyes shut with the pain, accentuating his deep crow's feet.

"Doctor, you're gonna be all right. You're always all right." She was not sure if it was his, or herself she was trying to comfort more. She tore open his shirt and clapped a hand to her mouth. All she could see, all she could smell, and all she could taste was his blood. It was gushing from a deep wound located over his right heart and pouring over his belly. Five lines tore through the wound. The three center lines were the deepest, tearing the wound wider, while the other two were red marks on either side.

The Doctor looked at her as though gauging her reaction to his exposed chest. He lifted his hand toward her but it fell back weakly, and he looked away, closing his eyes and concentrating only on breathing. "I promise, I will hold on for as long as I can."

"Don't talk like that." She was amazed that she still had the ability to form words.

"Rose, you have to be prepared… I might not make it. I might need to save my own life…"

Rose shook her head. "No. You can't change. Not yet. We can fix this." She wrapped his blood soaked shirt and jacket back around his chest. The image of his chest was burned into her mind. She raised her right hand and began to tremble at what she saw. Blood was packed under her three center fingernails.

"Oh my God." She whispered as she stared, hardly believing what she was seeing.

"Rose." His pained voice brought her back and she looked down to see him jerking in pain and shivering, his teeth gritted and bared. Tearing off the jumper and leaving her in her bra and leggings, she pressed it on his jacket, over the site of the wound to help soak up what was gushing through his clothes.

She touched his pale, cold cheek and flinched when she saw the rust colored mark she made on his face. Her mind was dizzy with panic. "I'll… I'll go get Mickey, I'll find some help, I'll make one of those women help you. There has to be some way…"

"No. Don't leave me." The fear in his voice seemed to clear her head suddenly. It came down to her again. She was in charge and she would do everything in her power.

His eyes were over bright and he seemed to stare through her. "If I have to change…I don't want to die alone."

"You're not gonna die, you're not gonna change, and most importantly, I am never gonna leave you. I said forever." She continued to add pressure to the wound and leaned her ear down to the other side of his chest. With her other hand, she pushed two fingers under his jaw to check his pulse. She felt him swallow under her fingers. His left heart seemed to be beating alone, it was weak and frantic as though trying desperately to replace the blood it was loosing.

"Bacteria." He gasped suddenly, grabbing her arm with surprising strength. "There are bacteria in the water, they—" His hand fell back down and he groaned, his eyes hooded.

Rose shook his shoulder hard. "The bacteria what, Doctor? Doctor!" She shook him again.

His eyes opened slightly, unfocused, and pained, then closed again.

"Doctor!"

His whole body moved as she shook him, tears streaming down her face and onto him. His head lolled lifelessly. She searched the veins in his neck and in his hands for the tell tale golden light, but she saw none.

"Then you can't be dead, you'd regenerate." Hope blossomed in her chest. She checked for his pulse again and let out the breath she didn't know she held. His one heart, though weak, was still trying its hardest to compensate. It began to slow and Rose let out a despaired sigh.

* * *

The guard threw a lasso over Mickey's head and tightened it around his neck. "Oi!" He choked against it.

Charlotte touched a finger delicately to his cheek. "Don't worry, it'll only get tighter if you struggle."

Mickey stilled and lowered his hands from the rope around his throat. Immediately it loosened slightly allowing him to breathe.

The door through which the Doctor and Rose had entered, closed behind him and he was led through the tunnel. Charlotte walked in front of him, and the guard held onto the rope attached to his neck behind him.

"Doctor!"

Mickey gasped when he heard Rose's hysterical voice.

Charlotte glanced up at the guard then back to the direction of the voice. Suddenly, Mickey was being dragged behind the women as they ran down the corridor.

The guard swung the door open with her free hand.

"Rose!" Mickey jerked forward to go to her, but the rope around his neck cut into his throat painfully and he rebounded. Rose was on her knees, both hands, orange and red with dried blood, clasped on either side of the Doctor's head. She pressed desperate kisses to his cheeks, his brow, his nose, everywhere that she could reach.

She clutched him to her, on hand around his back, the other on the back of his head and looked up at Mickey through her squinting, tear stained eyes. "It's my fault Mickey. He said summat about bacteria and now he's not regenerating and it's all my fault." Her speech grew more hysterical by the second. "He was wounded by them earlier and I made it worse, I opened it, I scratched him. It's my fault."

"Take the female to my rooms, and take the dead male to the incinerator. It's probably infected." Charlotte gazed at the two figures on the ground in pity. "Guard?"

"No!" Mickey and Rose shouted in unison.

Another guard, similar to the other strode down the hall and took hold of Mickey. The first guard took hold of Rose around the middle and dragged her off the Doctor's body. Rose struggled against the hold, all rational thoughts abandoned; she bit, screamed and clawed, wanting only to be with the Doctor.

"Child." Charlotte put a hand to her thrashing shoulder. "Your mate is dead." She took Rose from the Guard and held her firmly. Rose was surprised at the woman's strength and immediately ceased her struggle.

"He's hurt." She gasped through her tears. "He needs medical care, he needs help. If he were dead you wouldn't be speaking English to me…"

The guard lifted the Doctor's body as though he were a rag doll. His head lolled back, pulling his mouth open, and his arm dangled lifelessly.

"Don't worry." Charlotte said, softly. "If you are gestating, you will be cared for, and if not, there are other males available for mating."

Rose ignored her. "He's not dead! He's not, Doctor!" Rose yelled but Charlotte held onto her with both arms around her middle and began to drag her down the hall. "_Please._" She whispered. "_You need to show them you're not dead, please._ Doctor!" She shouted his name in desperation. "Help me!"

The guards began to pull Mickey and the Doctor in the opposite direction.

Rose's words triggered something deep and fundamental and the Doctor's eyes open suddenly albeit only partially. He noticed vaguely that he was being carried but he was too weak to do anything but lie in the arms of the unknown person. He was carried through a door and into another room. Something crackled and the warm orange glow of what must have been a fire shone on the mud walls. The cold he felt due to blood loss was deep but the heat of the fire grew stronger. He forced his eyes open all the way and tried to speak. What looked like a large mud-brick oven was set into the wall. He had a nasty feeling he knew why it was so large.

As the person who held him drew closer to the fire, the Doctor tried to speak but couldn't muster the strength to bring air past his vocal chords. The fire grew unbearably hot and he knew he only had seconds before it would eat him alive. He would not be able to regenerate from a scattered pile of ashes, he felt sure.

* * *

Another cliffie! Sorry about that, but I need to stop somewhere!

Thanks for reading, please review, and have a wonderful Christmas!


	8. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

Thank you everyone for your reviews and I'm so sorry this took way longer than expected! I had actually had most of the chapter written before Christmas, but then my computer died, and I literally JUST got a new computer.

I've been brainstorming a new 10/Rose fic too. I may post a pilot chapter soon just to see what you guys think and if it's worth continuing. It'll be set in the Pine Barrens, NJ, and feature the New Jersey Devil!

So finally, here's the chapter, hope you like it!

Previously: _The fire grew unbearably hot and the Doctor knew he only had seconds before it would eat him alive. He would not be able to regenerate from a scattered pile of ashes, he felt sure._

Chapter 8: A Stitch in Time Saves Nine

Charlotte held on to Rose's arms firmly and marched her through a new door and down a new tunnel.

"Don't fret, sweetheart, we'll find you a new male." Charlotte rubbed her thumbs on Rose's arms while she held her. "This is a valuable lesson. Never get too attached to your male, they're like wild, dumb, animals, they hurt themselves easily."

Rose was pushed through another door and the atmosphere changed dramatically. The room was lined with red satin sheets and a feathery brown carpet.

"Brown doesn't show the stains." Charlotte explained as she led Rose into the room and sat her down on a large cushion on the floor. "Now, is it your preference for brunettes?"

Too stunned by what had just happened, and what she was being asked, Rose simply stared at the woman, lines of mascara ridden tears drying on her cheeks.

"Come, child, tell me, what are you preferences in a mate? I can find a similar model somewhere I'm sure. You must know we have an extensive collection." When that got no response, Charlotte shook her arm gently. "What is your name?"

"Rose."

"Let me get you something to drink, Rose."

"Bacteria."

"Sorry?"

"The D—my…_male_. Said 'bacteria' before he… before he—" Rose wrung her hands, her brow furrowed as she thought aloud. "What did he mean by that? Bacteria… to cure him may be? No. That doesn't make sense."

"Rose, as your empress, I must command you to speak to me."

Rose looked up at the woman and saw a flicker of annoyance in Charlotte's eyes. "I've got to go. I've got to find the Doctor. Let me go." She struggled against the woman's hold. An agonized scream, a voice that Rose could recognize and feel in her heart, could be heard from a floor above. It ended almost as soon as it began.

Rose shook her head. "No." She could feel herself shaking, she had never lost control of herself so badly before. "No. No. No. No."

"Chilt fra ulv da duermta, Rose?" Charlotte was speaking to her. "Chilt fra su flouna je te ma?"

Rose was briefly aware of Mickey yelling outside of the room, before she fainted.

* * *

The Doctor was sure that he had felt pain, but he realized that he hadn't at all. Fear for the pain that he had anticipated had caused him instinctually to scream.

"It's still alive! Drown it." A voice said. Who ever held him seemed to shift and then he was dropping down.

Somehow the fire did not feel like fire. It felt more like its antithesis.

With a huge splash he sank into freezing water.

He opened his eyes and saw that he was on the other side of the fire and in a body of water. He struggled to keep his head above the frigid water. Two women watched from behind the fire as he floundered in the water.

He was sinking and his weak body could do nothing to stop it.

The pain in his chest suddenly increased ten fold and the Doctor felt sure it was the salt in the water. It seemed to have changed in temperature too. It was pleasantly warm to the Doctor's cold body. He concentrated all the energy he could muster and drove himself back to the surface.

"There's a man!" A female voice, light, and American. American? The Doctor was terribly confused.

He tried to crack open his eyes, but the light was blinding.

"Not another one. Is he alive?" Another American, this time, male.

"I don't think so."

There was a sigh. "Well we have to check. Let's get him aboard."

The Doctor's lung reserves helped him cope when the water went over his head again but he simply did not have the strength to keep his head above water. He heard muffled voices above him and felt something brush past him. _Fish_, he thought. _Drawn by the blood_.

Someone grabbed him by the armpits and he was hauled out of the water.

He felt waterlogged, he could not move a muscle and his struggling heart lost its battle with one last feeble beat. His body seemed to be so rooted with cold now that even the blood that still oozed from his chest seemed to be cooling at an alarming rate. His brain was telling his arms to move, for his lungs to breathe, but they would not obey.

_Do not regenerate until the last possible second._ He thought grimly, determined to stay alive.

"Shit, Cate, look at his chest."

"Shut up a moment, I know what to do."

He felt a slight pressure on his chest and felt sure that it was Cate, listening for a heart beat. She tilted his head back, pinched his nose, and opened his mouth. He received the air she provided from her lips hungrily. The wound in his chest exploded with pain. His Time Lord physique had started to heal it, scabbing over the deepest sections. The scab was torn open as she began chest compressions.

After fifteen agonizing thrusts to his chest, he drank in more air from her lips. The oxygen sped to his brain and he managed to take an enormous breath of his own, his single working heart beating furiously.

"He's alive." She said with a sigh of relief. "Get the first aid kit. He's bleeding."

There was a scrambling and then the sound of running foot steps receding.

The Doctor managed to open his eyes at last. He squinted through the bright light. It was far brighter than the light of England that he had become used to when on earth. A blurred shape with bleached blonde hair swam in his view.

"Rose?" He croaked, his befuddled brain scrambling to find purchase.

"My name's Cate, what's yours?"

"Doctor."

"I know, I know, we're on our way to get a doctor, don't worry."

"No!" Her face came into focus. Light blue eyes set in a firm, round face gave him the impression that she was around Rose's age. She was dressed in what she clearly thought of as a bohemian dress, tie die and loose fitting. "I can't see a doctor."

"I'm sorry, but you have to. Dude, this is way beyond my high school health class."

"Please." He grabbed hold of her arm with new found strength. He stared at her urgently. "I'll be fine. No hospital!"

"Okay, okay," She said and rubbed her arm when he had let go.

Judging by the sounds, and pitching of the floor, they were on a boat deck.

He sat up gingerly, the weight of his dead heart ached inside his chest. He pulled himself up and against the wall and looked out. Beyond the railing, miles of blue-green water stretched in all directions. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, wishing he could get his second heart to start up some how. "How…" He said as his eyes scanned his surroundings.

"You're the third guy we've found out here this week. The first alive one." She said quietly. "There must have been an accident or something, right?"

The Doctor shook his head slowly. "This is not good. This needs to be fixed and I'm on the wrong side."

"What?" The male voice entered and the Doctor looked up to see a young man with light brown hair, shorts, and a Hollister t-shirt. He gave the metal first aid box to Cate and she opened it.

"Nothing." Said the Doctor. "Thanks for saving me, but if you can give me a roll of gauze I'll be on my way, I have work to do."

"You English?"

The Doctor stared at her. "For the sake of argument, yes, I'm English." He made to get up but Cate put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're hurt. You won't get far with that hole in your chest, and where were you planning on going anyway?"

"I…" The Doctor made a face and sank back down. "Oh, all right."

"This is Brian." Cate gestured to him. "Brian this is… wait, you never said."

"The Doctor." The Doctor replied instantly.

"Doctor? That's your name?" Brian said, confused.

Cate nudged him. "Probably has amnesia."

"Oh, Okay." Said Brian, cottoning on.

"What did you do with the bodies you found?" The Doctor said hurriedly as he tore through the first aid kit, scattering band-aids with shaking hands. He held back his urge to groan with pain as he felt a stab of pain in the area of his dead heart.

"Called the Coast Guard. They came and picked them up. It was horrible." Brian said, shaking his head. "Listen, mister, if you let us take you to a hospital—"

"No!" The Doctor said loudly.

Cate and Brian looked at each other. "He could be a felon." Cate whispered to Brian.

"Do you have any kind of needle and thread?" Asked the Doctor as he continued to search the box urgently.

Cate opened a small box inside the first aid box. "I… I've never done anything like this before…" She looked uneasily at the needle and thread in her hands.

It was snatched from her in an instant. "Help me to your bathroom. Please."

"Of course." She said quietly, looking at Brian with an alarmed expression.

* * *

Rose trembled where she sat beside Charlotte.

"Vous yu tulk da fret." An arm draped around her shoulders and Rose was too exhausted to bat it away.

She had to find Mickey and if the Doctor really was dead, they had to get back to the TARDIS. She felt her airways constrict as she imagined walking into the empty TARDIS with Mickey. She imagined that a hologram would appear. She wheezed a gasp at the image of the Doctor, healthy and whole, but transparent and inaccessible. It will be her last vision of him.

She stood up swiftly and ran to the door. Throwing it open, she ran down the corridor and straight into Mickey.

"Rose! The TARDIS isn't translating! It's like last Christmas!"

"It's the link with the Doctor." Said Rose nodding. "Where did they take him?"

"This way!" Mickey grabbed her arm and led her. "but they didn't chuck him in the fire. They were going to, but they didn't."

"Then what did they do?" She said urgently.

"In there." He pointed at the door. "I heard them, they said to drown him."

Rose broke into a run. "There might still be a chance then." She flung the door open and it was thankfully clear of any one. The fire burned on a grave sized raised pyre. To its side and behind, Rose could see water. She ran to it and searched the surface of the lake. It was larger than she had expected, but she saw no sign of a body.

* * *

The Doctor squinted at the miniscule hole in the needle. The light of the yacht's small bathroom was yellowish and it made him look deathly ill.

He licked his lips. His hands shook and it made threading the needle virtually impossible. He closed his eyes as the boat heaved and he lost his balance, falling into the wall. When he had regained his balance he tried again to thread the needle. His eyes nearly crossed as he focused on the tiny hole. Just before the boat pitched again, he managed to bring the thread through the needle. His jubilation was short lived, however, when the task on hand presented itself.

He tore off what remained of his jacket and shirt and reached for the first aid kit positioned on the toilet seat. Taking a clean towel, he dipped it in the soapy water he had collected in the sink and went to work cleaning himself. He looked a wreck and the Doctor cringed at how fast the water turned dark with mud and blood. Finally, when he had cleaned up enough to see the wound clearly, he took the needle and positioned it at the top of the wound. He looked in the mirror and took a deep breath.

Cate wrung her hands outside the bathroom and whispered frantically to Brian. "He needs to go to a hospital. Oh my God, Brian, if he dies here… we need to call the coast guard, tell me you'll call them."

Brian nodded as he took his cell phone from his pocket. "He could be dangerous. He's obviously mentally unstable and probably a felon."

The Doctor let out a whimper as he drew the thread through his flesh. It was agonizingly slow work and the Doctor wondered if it would be worth going to a hospital and potentially changing the human race upon seeing his alien anatomy. He shook his head and set his jaw. It wouldn't be worth the necessary escape he would need to plan.

By the time he was nearing the center and most painful part of the wound the Doctor was beginning to feel very lightheaded. The sickly sight of the thread dragging through his flesh was getting harder to bear. He pushed the box off the toilet, ignoring it as it clanged against the wall and spilled. He sat on the toilet seat and determinedly continued.

* * *

A/N Please review!! And more importantly, what did you guys think of End of Time part 2? I was bawling!


	9. Revelations

A/N: Well here's the next chapter! I was going to wait until morning to update but I thought, why not now?

This chapter is a bit fluffy, but hopefully some major plot points will balance that out. Let me know what you think!

Thanks so much to:

SciFiGeek14

Kirsten

Whirlwind421

Sanguine Ink

Kristen-Korona

Phantomessxena

Thank you guys so much for your support, it means so much to me!

* * *

_Previously: By the time he was nearing the center and most painful part of the wound the Doctor was beginning to feel very lightheaded. The sickly sight of the thread dragging through his flesh was getting harder to bear. He pushed the box off the toilet, ignoring it as it clanged against the wall and spilled. He sat on the toilet seat and determinedly continued._

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 9: Revelations

Rose sat as though numb to the world, staring at the water before her. "I have to go in." She said more to herself than to Mickey. She looked up at Mickey as though only just remembering he was beside her. "I'm going to find him. He could still be alive, and if not, I'll find his body. Maybe he can still regenerate."

"Okay, but if you're not back soon, I'm coming in after you."

Rose took a step back and dove into the water. Her first instinct was to yelp with the cold but she pushed the impulse back as she swam on. The water was murky and she had difficulty seeing anything. Something stirred below her and she swam closer, acutely aware of her growing need for air. If this were the Doctor down there, it would be worth the chance of losing too much air. She squinted and swam closer to the bottom.

Dead sea animals were piled at the bottom of the water. The bodies seemed to create the floor and Rose felt sure they had been there a long time. Eels and brightly colored fish, sharks, and even, to Rose's horror, a couple of human bodies. All excepting the most recent bodies were in various stages of decay. Determined to check, she made her way to a form that could be a human male but something caught her eye. A shape was approaching fast.

The creature thrashed suddenly and Rose swam back in alarm as a fifteen foot long, slick, grey body drew closer to her, rows of razor sharp teeth gaped open as the water passed through its gills.

Rose turned away from the beast and struck out as hard as she could for the surface. She resisted the urge to scream, knowing that water would flood her lungs, but every second that she was in the water, she was at the shark's mercy. When she broke the surface she found herself in for another shock, this time, perhaps even greater than before.

* * *

The Doctor tied the last stitch and cut the thread with a small pair of scissors. He gasped and put his head between his knees to combat his sickness, ignoring the throbbing wound as it pulled on the stitches. He wondered if he had ever truly felt this ill before.

He rose from the toilet seat, fell to his knees, threw open the toilet, and vomited for the second time in only a few hours. He didn't have much left to come up, however, and he retched dryly a couple times before falling back to sit against the wall, panting and sweating.

He suddenly heard Brian's voice from outside. "Not another one! A girl?"

The Doctor sprang to his feet and promptly fell back against the wall as vertigo set in. He did not wait for it to clear before he stumbled from the bathroom, through the multipurpose room, and out to the deck of the yacht. He held on to the railing with both hands for support as he ran the length of the deck, searching the water frantically.

Then he saw her. "Turn this boat around, now!" He shouted and ran to the stern, leaning over the rail.

Rose took a huge breath when she broke the surface. She stared around her, aghast at the bright blue sky and warm water. She spun and her eyes locked on to the one person she wanted to see.

"Doctor." She breathed, smiling.

A few moments later she was lifted from the water by a young man who introduced himself as Brian. When she had stumbled, dripping onto the deck, the Doctor caught her and instantly pulled her into a crushing hug. Her face was buried in his bare chest above his pounding left heart. She felt him press his lips against the top of her head. She sighed contently and listened for his heart beat. The familiar four beat rhythm was absent.

"Doctor?" She pulled back and looked the question at him. He looked sickly, sweating, and breathing heavily.

"I might need your help." He said with a small smile.

"Where are we?" Rose asked as the Doctor finally released her. She put an arm around his back and the Doctor allowed her to help support him.

"This is my yacht." Said Brian, proudly.

"No, it isn't. It's his dad's." said Cate, rolling her eyes.

"Does daddy know you're using his yacht?" said the Doctor, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… no." Brian admitted. "But I've been sailing boats all my life."

"He's very talented." Cate kissed his lips. "He's my boyfriend."

"I'd never guess." Said the Doctor. "Before you bring this yacht back to its home, which I'm sure you will be doing very soon because you are a responsible son, tell me, where are we?"

"Bermuda Triangle." Said Brian waving his fingers. "Spooky, huh?"

The Doctor shot him a grin. "Excellent."

* * *

Mickey was crouched by the lake, his eyes searching the water. "Rose?"

Suddenly he was seized from behind. "Not again." He groaned. "Don't take me to the cell."

He was pushed into a small room. He whipped around to see a tall woman in a lavender tunic. "Fdsi vous flounsha en ta sacrist werd?"

She advanced on him and he stumbled back against the wall.

* * *

The Doctor rummaged through the electrical box of the boat, Rose at his side. "Hold this, please." He said and passed the cover of the equipment to her.

"What are you looking for?" She said, one hand on his back, ready in case he should need support.

"I need to jump start my heart, but I need your help." He tightened his mouth and pulled a wire and a spark issued from the disconnection. "Lovely." He said, sucking his shocked finger. He pulled the wire further out and then found another and held the ends close to each other. "Put that down and take these." He instructed.

Rose set the cover down and reached for them.

"Careful, hold it where my fingers are."

Rose pinched her fingers under his to hold the wires.

"This is where my other heart is." The Doctor covered the stitched wound with the palm of his hand.

"One wire has to go here." He raised his right arm and put a finger to side of his right pectoral just under his armpit. "The other has to go here." He touched his hand lightly on his neatly stitched wound.

Rose gulped at the crash course on Time Lord anatomy and nodded to show she understood. "That's going to hurt." She said unnecessarily.

"I expect it will, yes." He met her eyes, a silent bid for trust, and took her left hand. He guided it to his side, and positioned her fingers so that the wire was pressed against his skin. Then placed her other hand over his wound.

"On the count of three." He held his left hand on switch on the circuit board. "One, two, three." He pushed the lever up. The electricity hummed through Rose's fingers before connecting with the Doctor. A violent spasm jolted through his body, pulling away from Rose's hands.

The Doctor's eyes were wide as he gasped. "Need a higher voltage."

Rose's hands shook as she held the wires locked in position.

He turned a dial on the circuit board.

"Try again." His voice was cracked and he stared at the wires in her hand anxiously.

Rose nodded and took a step to him. He backed away automatically.

"Sorry." He murmured and stepped up to her again.

Rose put the wires to his chest again. The Doctor screwed up his face, took a deep breath, and pushed the lever again.

This time, Rose could see the electricity leap from her hands to his chest. He fell to his knees without a sound and Rose dropped to wires to catch him, both arms under his. He lay his head against her shoulder and Rose rubbed circles on his back. He breathed heavily, whimpering feeble bleats, saliva hanging from his bottom lip.

She had to know if it had worked. She nervously put a hand to his throat and breathed an enormous sigh of relief when she felt the four beat rhythm.

"Oh my God. Is he Okay?"

Rose looked up from her place on the floor, and saw Cate. "Is there somewhere he can rest?"

"Sure, he can have the bed. Let me help you—Oh my _God!_ Did he do that himself?" She pointed at the stitches.

"Did he?" Rose said, cringing at the thought.

"Easy peasy lemon squeezy." Came the Time Lord's gasping response.

Cate helped Rose lift the Doctor to his feet. To Rose's horror she saw four burn marks from the wires.

He seemed barely conscious but Cate and Rose managed to negotiate him to the master bed. He dropped down in to it and Rose pulled the blankets up to his chin.

"Time Lords don't _need_ sleep." He slurred in complaint, his eyes half closed. "I've got so much to do…"

"This one needs it." She said with a small smile and kissed his forehead. "Won't be much help until you've had a good sleep. Goodnight."

"We'll wash your sheets." Rose murmured to Cate when she thought about the Doctor's grubby countenance. Cate threw open a suitcase that lay on the floor.

"You're both a mess." She said and pulled a towel and a long blue casual beach dress from the suitcase. "Feel free to use the shower." She pressed the clothes into Rose's arms and she accepted them gratefully.

The younger girl slipped out of the room and Rose sat on the beds edge. She stroked the Doctor's hair.

Watching his eyes grow heavier, she found her own itch with tiredness. The sun began to set out the window of the master bedroom. The bright orange of the sky reminded her of the Doctor's description of his late home.

The shower was wonderful. After excessive amounts of shampoo to clean the salt water, blood, and mud from her hair, and a thorough exfoliation, she was warm, clean, and comfortable.

When she returned to the room, towel drying her hair and clothed in the comfortable blue dress, she found the Doctor sleeping deeply, his face smooth, content, and looking years younger.

It was a rare moment that he slept and Rose fully intended to commit this moment to memory. The orange of the sky had deepened and shone over his face. She squeezed more water from her hair and stared out at the stars as they gradually appeared as the orange gave way to purple and deep Prussian blue.

She sat on the bed and wondered what the Doctor would think if she climbed in for a kip. She shrugged mentally. She was tired, why not?

She hesitated then climbed in to the bed carefully. She held her breath as he stirred. He rolled over to face her but did not open his eyes.

She scooted closer to him slowly until she could feel his breath. She stared at him, breathing his exhalation. He turned in his sleep, deeper into the pillow and his arm slid across the sheets and over her body to rest on the other side of her. Effectively pinned down, she gulped.

"Rose?" She could barely hear his murmur and he seemed to be still asleep. His brows twitched.

Rose wrapped her arms around his head and drew him to her chest. She kissed the top of his head firmly. She felt his long fingers curl around her body and he sighed in his sleep.

As Rose held his head, content to feel the weight on her breasts and his even breathing. She found herself unable to sleep for worry, never mind her hammering heart at her proximity to the Doctor.

She stared out the window at the stars over the ocean and continued to cradle the Doctor until morning. She wondered vaguely what his reaction would be when he woke to find himself in this position.

She idly played with his hair, picking up pieces, twirling and stroking them. Mickey was out there somewhere in a different world, and maybe even a different reality. Doctor would put it right though, she had no doubt.

He had never looked so human, though, than when he was sleeping. At this moment she wasn't holding a nine hundred and some year old alien, but a very tired man.

For once, the future did not seem to be so important.

* * *

A/N: Awesome, I got another chapter done!

As usual, please let me know what you think!

Now I'm getting back to my latest music obsessed: "Cosmic Love" by Florence + the Machine. If you haven't heard it, you must!


	10. Love

Ok, so this is a very soppy chapter, but I did my best to write it as classy as I could. This chapter is important though so if you don't like romance, please bare with me, it's going to be important in future chapters.

Thank you guys so much for the review and the favorite-ing and the alert adding!!!

Thanks particulary to:

Whirlwind421

Kirsten-Korona

Sanguine Ink

SciFiGeek14

Team Guy of Gisborne

Namesake

Dame rose tyler

Ingrid

Elvespiratesandcowboysohmy

WeepingAngel 123

* * *

_Previously: The Doctor had never looked so human, though, than when he was sleeping. At this moment Rose wasn't holding a nine hundred and some year old alien, but a very tired man._

_For once, the future did not seem to be so important._

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 10: Love

Rose dreamed.

It was the sort of dream that she had had before and it felt more real now than it had ever felt in the past. She was sure she could feel the Doctor's weight, his head between her breasts. Suddenly he was too heavy. "You're crushing me." She bleated, but he didn't seem to hear. His weight was pressing down harder, pushing the air out of her lungs.

Suddenly, the room was rocking and falling. "We're crashing into another dimension." The Doctor's voice was above her as he continued to love her as though unconcerned.

Her eyes snapped open. In the darkness she felt panic grip her as she saw the dark shape that seemed to press on her chest. Where was she? The room was moving. Glancing to the window she saw a tiny sliver of purple and pink light begin to creep over the horizon. Dawn.

A soft snore and movement above her reminded her of the previous day.

The Doctor shifted above her, pulling his knee up. Some how in the night he had managed to roll his entire body on top of her. Though she loved his nearness, and could feel far more of him than was probably prudent for a friend, her chest was starting to ache with the pressure.

Slowly and carefully, she slid her legs out from under his. She cringed as she brushed a certain part of his anatomy and froze when he made a small noise of pleasure. He clung harder to her. _Any other circumstance,_ thought Rose, _this would be heaven. _Unfortunately she was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

"D—Doctor?" She squeaked and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Mmm what is it?"

"You're crushing me."

"Pillows aren't supposed to talk. Stop it."

Rose gasped as he tightened his arms around her and started to genuinely wonder if he could crush her to death.

"Can't… breathe…"

"Stop it." He slurred again, his voice thick with sleep. "Radioactive wallabies don't pretend to be pillows any more. I sent you back to your planet years ago now."

Rose slapped his bare shoulder a few times so hard that her hand stung.

"What?" The befuddled Doctor woke completely and found himself staring at Rose's left breast. "_What_?" He looked up and met her eyes. He promptly removed himself from her and she gasped for breath.

"Thank you." She breathed. The bed bounced as he flopped onto his back. She stole a glance at him. He was staring at the ceiling, his face illuminated by the growing light and troubled. Rose sighed. Back to his usual guarded self. Certain boundaries had already been destroyed, however. Rose felt that the knowledge she had of his body now, must surely entitle her to…

She scooted closer to him but he showed no sign that he had noticed.

"Sorry." She murmured. "Didn't mean to wake you, but I couldn't breathe."

His mouth twitched. A smile? It was gone almost as instantly as it had appeared. "Sorry I almost crushed you." A pink tinge crept into his cheeks and she stared, shocked to see him mouth was set in a firm line.

"What's wrong?" She questioned, and put a hand to his shoulder, rubbing her thumb on his skin.

He took a deep breath and turned his head to meet her eyes. "It's a self preservation thing. I don't allow myself certain feelings…to get too attached. There are some things I can't say."

Her heart was pounding and sinking at the same time. Was this the moment it would break? "You can't say, what?"

What was it about nighttime and the darkness, so early in the morning, that made things easier to say, easier to do? Rose put her palm to his cheek and his eyes were bright at he stared at her.

"I can't. I just can't." He said. "I may have a long life ahead of me. Too long to live heart broken."

There.

Rose frowned. "Selfish."

In any other circumstance, Rose would have found the Doctor's shock and abrupt change highly amusing.

"What? What do you mean?"

Rose smiled slightly and shrugged.

The Doctor blew his cheeks out, his eyes wide as though seeing something in a whole new light. "You're right. I've already gone too deep. As ever Rose Tyler, you are brilliant, and my God, how many times have you saved my life?"

He slid both hands on either side of her face and drew his own close to her. Rose closed her eyes, every nerve ending on fire; this was the moment. She could feel his hot breath and knew that his lips were so close. It would be easy to lean forward…

He pulled away and she all but groaned. She opened her eyes and saw that the Doctor was grinning at her. Her face was suddenly very hot. Was it a joke?

He seemed to suddenly get an idea. "Have I ever said 'thank you'?" He whispered. His hands took her face again and he brought his lips crashing down on hers.

Rose fancied she felt stars erupt through her skin, squeezing their way out of every pore. She felt as though light itself were passing from his lips and that every fiber in her body was being drawn to him like a magnet. His fingers found their way to her temple as his tongue entered her mouth. She gasped when her mind was suddenly filled with his presence. He flirted on the edges of her mind. She slid her palm up his lightly haired chest, careful to avoid his wound. With her hand pressed firmly on his left pectoral she could feel his hearts beating furiously fast, blood racing through his body.

"Deeper." She managed to moan and felt him oblige. He sank further into her mind and Rose gasped at the feeling. It was painful, as though her mind had to stretch to accommodate him. He moved in her thoughts, in her fears, in her happiest and saddest moments; it was agony and it was utterly wonderful. He was deep but respectful, content only to be present, not intrusive. She could hear three hearts pounding in her body. It was as though his whole being was inside of her as one person. She choked on a sob at the beauty of their harmony. She could _feel_ the Doctor thinking but the speed of his thoughts was too fast for her to follow. She wondered vaguely if he ever stopped thinking. The second she thought it, perhaps even before she had completed the thought, she could feel his reponse, 'never.'

He shifted and climbed on top of her, all the while maintaining the connection. She allowed herself to be an open vessel to him, submissive, allowing him to be dominant. When had her dress been removed? More over, when had his trousers left him? His hands left her temples but the connection remained as they wandered over her body and parted her legs.

* * *

Mickey, meanwhile, was not having nearly so much fun. He found himself being ushered in to a solitary cell.

"Flu trugya ertvou?" The woman spat at him. She pushed him in the chest and he fell back against the bars. His lower back connected with something sharp, corroded, and rusty. He gasped and lifted a hand to his back. It was wet, and when he looked at his hand he found a smattering of blood on his fingers.

He suddenly felt very ill. Clutching his stomach, he lowered himself to the floor. He didn't even notice the woman leave him on his own, taking the light with her. He lay down on his side, clutching at his stomach, trying his best not to be sick.

* * *

The Doctor rolled on to his back, chest heaving, and sweat dripping. Rose clung to him, one hand on his chest, her legs tangled with his. Drying sweat gave the sensation that were stuck to each other.

"You were in my head." Rose said, dazed with the after effects of the onslaught to her senses. "I feel… high. Like I could do anything."

The Doctor grinned fondly at her, his eyes soft and tired. "The after effects. Wonderful, isn't it?"

"Wonderful doesn't cut it. What did you do?" She said breathlessly, smiling goofily and sliding a hand up her body to touch her head.

He kissed her temple and lightly traced her lips with his fingers. "Made love to your mind."

"Not like any lay I've ever had before…"

The Doctor raised a haughty eyebrow. "Did you expect it to be?"

"I didn't expect it at all." She confessed. She curled closer around him, wanting him to hold her, but his eyes were closed and his breathing had slowed. "Nevermind. Just like any bloke. The deed is done, time for sleep." She said with a hint of annoyance and settled herself for sleep.

* * *

Rose woke surprised to find herself naked, and even more surprised to see the Doctor sitting up in bed and equally naked. She reached underneath the covers for the lump that protruded and found that it was the Doctor's dirty trousers.

She raised her eyebrows and blew out her cheeks in a sigh. "Now we really have to wash their sheets for them."

The Doctor was uncharacteristically silent. He rubbed his face, rough with stubble then got up to walk to the bathroom, grabbing the towel Rose had used on his way.

She heard the toilet flush and the shower turn on.

She threw Cate's dress back on quickly and left the room.

She found Cate and Brian laying on towels on the deck, Cate in a black bikini, Brian in swim shorts.

Cate looked up as Rose approached and shielded her eyes from the sun to see her. "Does your boyfriend need clothes? Brian found some of his dad's." She pointed at the pile beside them.

"Thank you." Rose gathered the Dockers and white shirt in her arms.

"When you're ready, we'll take you back to Miami. For now, I've made cocktails!"

Brian raised his own with an enthused. "Heyyy"

"What time is it?" Rose said in surprise at their alcohol.

"2pm. You guys have been sleeping for, like, 17 hours."

Rose thought back to what they had done last night, a blush creeping into her cheeks. She had lost all sense of time and place with the Doctor in her mind and body. It could have been hours.

Her stomach growled loudly and she blushed.

"Let me get you something to eat." Cate said with a smile.

"Thanks," Rose said in relief. "I'll just go get the Doctor."

She approached the bathroom and heard the shower turn off. When he opened the door, the towel tied around his waist, Rose was shocked by his huge grin.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" He said, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Oh, clothes! Knew I forgot something, thanks!" He dropped the towel suddenly and Rose instantly looked away, as though intensely interested in the paint job on the wall as he took the khakis from her arms and pulled them on. She only returned her gaze when she heard him zip.

She did a double take at his wound. "Looks much better." She said pointing at it. It was only a slight shade of pink and the stitches looked as though they could be removed soon.

He looked down, then back up at her. "Last night sped the healing up I suppose. Right as rain I am now, and ready for some deep sea diving, what do you think?" He pulled the shirt over his head.

"I was sort of thinking food first."

"Food! Oh, yes, forgot about that too! Food is good, fantastic, yes, I'm starved." He growled exuberantly, cracked his spine, and stretched.

"You're all better then, after sleeping?" She said, grinning.

"Better? I feel fantastic. I'm all limber and ready to go. I feel like something was released," He made fists with his hands before him. "like I had all this tension blocked up inside of me and then…" He flicked his fingers open theatrically. "it exploded out of me like a volcano!"

Rose fought not to burst out into laughter.

He clapped his hands in front of him and rubbed them enthusiastically. "I really need to do that more often."

"Sex?" She blurted out before she could stop herself.

He froze. "I was going to say sleep." Realization dawned on him as he gazed past her. Rose could tell he was remembering his words. His face grew redder than ever. "Ah. Yes, you're probably right. That was it." His eyes swept the floor sheepishly and he pointed to the door. "I'm… gonna g-go over there." He said awkwardly and fled the room.

* * *

Ok, hope you guys liked it, I'm a little nervous because it's the most romantic thing I've written. If you don't like romance, don't worry, the action will continue with full force next chapter! And, if you're like me, never fear, the Doctor whump is far from over.

Please let me know what you think.


	11. Changes

You guys gave me such wonderful reviews, and since I had time on my hands today, I thought I'd update. I know, I know, its inexcusably soon, but I just couldn't wait, and your reviews made me so happy that it's the least I can do.

Hope you like it!

Thanks to:

Elvespiratesandcowboysohmy

Doobrey Ferkin

Kirsten-Korona

Dame rose tyler

Ingrid

WeepingAngel123

Wirlwind421

SciFiGeek14

You guys are all so wonderful to be sticking to this story! Thanks!

* * *

_Previously: The Doctor clapped his hands in front of him and rubbed them enthusiastically. "I really need to do that more often."_

"_Sex?" Rose blurted out before she could stop herself._

_He froze. "I was going to say sleep." Realization dawned on him as he gazed past her. Rose could tell he was remembering his words. His face grew redder than ever. "Ah. Yes, you're probably right. That was it." His eyes swept the floor sheepishly and he pointed to the door. "I'm… gonna g-go over there." He said awkwardly and fled the room._

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 11: Changes

Rose picked up the dropped towel the Doctor had left behind and stripped the sheets quickly off the bed, still smiling to herself. The sheets held a musky scent, one that must have been hers, and another that irrefutably belonged to the Doctor. She resisted the urge to bring the sheets hungrily to her nose.

She emerged outside with her arms full of wash. "Cate, Brian, is there a laundry room here?"

The Doctor was sitting, hugging his knees with one hand. With the other he picked at a large bowl with a fork and squinted in the bright sun on the deck of the ship with Cate and Brian.

He looked up when he saw her. "Rose, do you want to eat my nuts?"

Rose promptly dropped the wash. "S-sorry?" She squeaked.

"They're in my salad and I'm not a fan and oh for the love of—" He threw his fork down in frustration when he realized what he had said. "_Pine nuts_, I meant _pine nuts!"_

Brian laughed loudly. "You can try _my_ nuts, Rose, I like them but I'm willing to share!"

Cate smacked the back of his head. "Just leave the wash there and come eat. We'll deal with it."

Rose sat beside the Doctor and Cate handed her an empty bowl.

"Help yourself," Cate passed the large salad to her. "Brian called the coast guard and they're sending someone out now, should be here in a few hours."

"And they're bringing gear for diving, yes?" Said the Doctor as he devoured the papaya and cranberries in the salad.

"Yes, of course, though I don't know why you—"

"We like a bit of site seeing, isn't that right Rose?" He gave her a wink and licked a finger of juice.

"Quite right." She said, smirking and taking a bite of her own portion.

* * *

Mickey shuddered where he lay in the dark cell.

"Rose?" He gasped pathetically and retched, vomiting and clutching his stomach. "Rose, I'm not well, I think I need to go to hospital. Rose, I'm still in love with you."

His eyes were over bright as he gazed at something that wasn't there. His face darkened suddenly and his shudder turned into a roar. "The bastard took Rose from me and if he's shagged her…I'll rip his eyes out so he won't be able to see her any more. I'll shred out his hearts with my hands."

He shuddered again and his face smoothed and turned back into its frightened appearance. "No, why? Why would I want to do that? The Doctor will make it all better, he'll fix this, he'll make the pain go. He's my friend."

Another shudder of pain and his face changed dramatically again as the anger rose. "And he's my rival. I'll kill him. I'll tear him apart limb from limb. I'll hide all his body parts so he'll never be able to crawl back together like a worm and then I'll have Rose for myself."

* * *

Rose made to sip the tall, refreshing, cocktail where she stood on the rail of the boat.

The Doctor snatched the drink out of her hand and leaned back against the rail, regarding her seriously. "Rose… I was thinking—"

"I believe it."

He blinked and smiled. "Seriously, Rose, last night…" He opened his mouth but nothing came out. "I was wondering … I didn't think of it and maybe… what I mean to say is… I mean, do you?"

"I'm not following you at all. Can I have my drink back?"

He pulled at the collar of the shirt. "Rose do you take… I mean… I know there are certain…human precautions… "

Rose gasped and a hand flew to her mouth when she understood his meaning. "No. I mean, you're a different species, are we even genetically compatible?"

"Oh, I should think so."

"Oh." Rose gulped.

The Doctor raised the glass in cheers. "Just in case." He threw the glass back and drank it in one breath. He gasped when he was done. "Lovely, what was it?"

"Sex on the Beach."

"Yes, please."

"That's what the drink is called. And you weren't supposed to chug it!"

The Doctor frowned at the empty glass. "Not what I'd expect it to taste like. Anyway, alcohol wouldn't effect it now even if you were…I mean…you know. But you can never be too safe, and that was delicious."

Rose gripped the rail tightly, watching the waves breaking against the side of the boat. "Doctor…" Her voice trembled. "What if—"

He set the glass down beside the rail and held her arms gently. "Rose, try not to worry. Even if you are…you know, everything will be fine." He rubbed his hands up and down and she collapsed against him.

"I didn't even think about that last night, I can't believe it didn't even cross my mind, but Doctor, now I'm scared." Truthfully, She thought, He hadn't exactly asked for so much as taken what he wanted while he was inside her head. Not that she was complaining.

"Hush." He said, rubbing her back. "Nothing to worry about." He said softly. "When I get my sonic screwdriver or get back to the TARDIS, we'll find out, and we'll figure everything out."

The Doctor hugged her tight and leaned his cheek against the top her head, watching the water, his face troubled, wondering if he had made a terrible mistake.

"I've washed your clothes." Cate said, smiling at the Doctor and Rose and they broke from their hug. "They're in the bedroom."

* * *

Mickey paced his filthy cell.

Yes. He would be able to smell it. He'd know it. As soon as they came—and he knew they would—he'd do it. He'd go for his eyes first, right? Blind him so he won't see it coming.

His eyes swept the cell and landed on the pointed, rusted implement on the floor. That would do. No time to think of what it was or what it was doing there, he would use it for his sordid means.

He froze suddenly. What if he had already shagged her? What if she was carrying his child? Then he'd have to destroy it. It was the Doctor's, not his, so it must be destroyed. He was getting ahead of himself, though. He gripped the long poker tightly. For now he'd concentrate on the task at hand.

* * *

The Doctor shrugged into his shirt and buttoned his cuffs as Rose pulled her jumper over her leggings, grateful to be wearing her own clean clothes again. "Lovely, nice and warm from the dryer." The Doctor said, buttoning his fly.

Rose could not help but take a peak. "Don't you wear underwear?"

The Doctor shrugged as he buttoned his shirt. The blood stains would not come off easily, though, and large patches of brown showed on the blue shirt. "Sometimes." He raised his eyebrows suggestively and Rose spun to smile at the floor.

"Seems fitting for diving. Commando in the ocean." He said with a grin.

Rose couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm and swung his tie over his neck. "It takes way too long to dress you." She said as she worked on his tie.

"Doesn't take as long to undress me, though."

Rose gulped, still not used to this new, open Doctor. "That one was intentional, right?"

"True, too." He said as Rose finished his tie. He pulled his jacket back on, hiding the marred shirt.

When the Coast guard had arrived, they sent a small boat out to float parallel to the yacht.

Rose hugged Cate and the Doctor shook Brian's hand. "Thank you for everything." Rose said, sincerely.

The Doctor looked at Brian sternly. "You'll take this yacht back to your father?"

"Of course."

"Who am I kidding." The Doctor said, slapping the boy in the arm. "You'll bring it back all right, in a week."

Brian shrugged and nodded. "Yeah."

The Doctor put a hand to Rose's arm, indicating that she should climb down the ladder and into the other boat first.

"Just, do me a favor," The Doctor said, "keep away from this general area for a while, okay?"

When the man in the boat had helped Rose in, he gave a brief one fingered salute to the young couple and climbed down.

* * *

Two women stood before Mickey's cell. One was Charlotte, her gold hair swimming around her face. The other was a brunette, equally beautiful, her eyes a deep brown, clothed in a similar revealing white gauze.

He watched them hungrily as they talked and pointed at him. He grasped the poker to him as though worried they'd take it from him. He wanted them. And he wanted Rose. And he wanted the Doctor right here, right now, dead at his feet.

* * *

"Just… give it!" The Doctor instructed to the young coast guard. He lowered his voice as though training an unruly dog. "_Give it!"_ He tugged at the wet suits.

"But—I need to ask my superior. Civilians aren't supposed to use our equipment."

The Doctor groaned and dug into his pocket. "I keep telling you, we're members! Here's our documentation. Lieutenant John Smith and this is my wife…who is also a Lieutenant. Yes, that's right, it's a family thing." He flashed the psychic paper at him and tugged the suits from the man's arms. He threw one to Rose and they hurriedly put them on.

"There aren't any women's wet suits around?" Rose said sulkily when she had dressed. She poked the hollow bump between her legs. "It looks ridiculous."

"No one cares what you look like." The Doctor said, grumpily. "I look like I've gained twenty pounds anyway." He pulled at the rubbed around his thighs and biceps. He had refused to take off his suit underneath and now the tight wet suit rubbed him in all the wrong ways.

Rose was fairly comfortable as the male wetsuit was slightly too big and gave her ample room in the chest area and for her jumper.

* * *

The women were chatting faster and Mickey retched again and clutched at his stomach.

He threw the poker away. What was he doing with that thing? He couldn't remember picking it up.

"Please, help me." He pleaded with the women but they began to talk more excitedly.

* * *

The Doctor raised the oxygen mask and murmured to Rose. "Go in backwards. Just do as I do."

"Why am I not surprised that you know how to do this?" She whispered back at him.

He winked at her, replaced the mask, then dropped over the side of the boat.

Nervously, she peered into the water and saw the Doctor's hair floating straight above his goggled and masked head. He gave her the thumbs up and she nodded. She automatically took a deep breath when she sat down and let the weight of the tanks drag her into the ocean.

* * *

"Flouthru greft ju." The brunette whispered frantically. Mickey shuddered and clenched his fists as the spasm tore through his body.

Something had changed in the air. He sniffed the air and frowned at the mixture of something foul and something delicious. He grabbed the poker and held it defensively before him.

"Frath kuf da the change is so fast."

His head snapped up and he looked at the brunette. "English?"

"He's speaking!" Charlotte approached him slowly. "My dear, how do you feel?"

"Empress, please do not get too close. He's infected."

* * *

The Doctor ran his gloved hands over the body of a dead tiger shark. The beautiful animal was dead. No doubt it was a salt-water animal that could not survive in fresh.

He looked around him. This was no longer the Bermuda triangle. How had he not noticed slipping into a different world? He searched the dead animals. He closed his eyes and relied on his senses. He could feel the turning of this world, of the water moving slowly around him. He swam in one direction for a moment, his eyes still closed. There. He felt a slight disturbance in the water as though a tiny pocket of space interrupted the flow of the water.

Suddenly he was thrown backward as Rose landed on top of him. Both struck out for the surface and tore their masks off.

"You just appeared out of nowhere and oh. We're back." Rose said and looked around her.

"Lorentzian wormhole." He said with a sigh. "Like a vacuum drawing moving objects in so fast they don't realize. It's small, but it can do a lot of damage. This is very bad."

He climbed on to the rocky shore and held a hand out to help Rose. The pyre burned nearby and the Doctor shuddered as he remembered his near death experience.

"We need to collect Mickey and get the hell out of here to the TARDIS so I can fix this before earth becomes invaded by the bacteria." He stripped off the wet suit and held out an arm for Rose as she climbed out of her own.

"Bacteria!" She gasped. "That's what you had said before… What did you mean?"

"There is bacteria in the mud here. It's carrying Tx39. If that bacteria finds its way to earth, it's very likely it will destroy the population. Remember what I said? Infected with it, the male population could destroy human life." He looked around them. "This could be the future of the earth."

Rose gulped. "Let's get moving then."

* * *

Mickey rammed into the bars. "Let me go! I need to find him." He brandished the poker against the bars and the two women jumped back in alarm. He sniffed the air. "He's coming."

* * *

The Doctor took a deep breath through his nose. "I …think I've found Mickey."

"By smell?" Rose inquired.

"He's infected." He said, his face grim.

* * *

A/N: Well, I'd really like to keep writing but this just seems like a good place to leave it. Hope you liked it, please review!


	12. Infection

Thanks for the wonderful reviews everyone! I hope I show my appreciation with my fast updates.

Thanks to:

Namesake, angelthree17, elvespiratesandcowboysohmy, Francesca Montag, Kirsten-Korona, Kirsten, Whirlwind421, Kelkat9, Doobrey Ferkin, SciFiGeek14, Dame rose tyler, Sanguine Ink, Team Guy of Gisborne

_Thank you guys so much!_

This story is getting juicier and jucier and riskier and riskier… I hope you all still like it!

Proceed this and the next couple of chapters with caution if you do not like 10whump.

* * *

_Previously:_ _The Doctor took a deep breath through his nose. "I …think I've found Mickey."_

"_By smell?" Rose inquired._

"_He's infected." He said, his face grim. _

Chapter 12: Infection

The Doctor marched forward, past the fire, his face thunderous in the orange glow. Rose jogged to catch up with him but fell to her knees beside the pyre as a sudden pain gripped her abdomen. The air seemed some how thicker here than on earth and the sudden change in atmosphere made her feel like she was suffocating.

The Doctor whipped around and pulled her up to him. His arms were strong and Rose tried to focus on that while she attempted to catch her breath.

He held one arm in support around her back, clutching her to him. With the other, he maneuvered his fingers to her temple and closed his eyes.

_I know_. She felt his thought in her mind. _Breathe with me. I know what is happening, do not panic. Breathe with me._

He took a slow breath and as his ribs expanded against hers, she copied him, her own arms wrapped around his back. She felt his shoulder blades rise with his breath and as he exhaled, she followed. She was pressed so firmly against him that she could feel the slow, steady rhythm of his hearts against her chest. The feeling persisted and gradually she could feel her own heart rate slow to match his.

He moved his hand down her body to rest on her hip and his thumb gently massaged the muscles of her lower abdomen. She felt as though a warm light were moving into her belly, soothing the pain and leaving her relaxed.

"Healing hands." She whispered, hardly knowing what she was saying.

He bent to kiss her lips gently. He pulled away, leaving her weak, yet strong at the same time. The Doctor had that effect on her a lot, she mused.

"Okay?" He regarded her seriously and Rose had the impression that he was not telling her something. She nodded and stared at him.

He wiped a hand down his face as he turned around. His voice cracked. "Blimey."

"Doctor? What's wrong?"

He looked at her for a second, then seemed to make up his mind. "Rose… your cells are dividing too fast. You are definitely pregnant and I need to get you back to the TARDIS; this place is not healthy for either of you. The hormones are speeding the process dangerously fast. I've managed to slow it for now, but it won't last."

Rose's head spun. Pregnant? She put a hand to her middle and jumped in fright. Just beneath her skin she felt a firm bubble. She felt sick.

He grabbed her hand and led her briskly through the door and down a corridor. "I _will_ get you back to the TARDIS, and take you home where you'll be safe."

"I'm not ready to be a mum." She whispered. "I'm too young, I want to travel, I want to be with you forever. You won't leave me on earth, will you?"

The Doctor gripped her arms bruising hard and Rose was shocked to see hurt in his eyes. "Rose Tyler. I would _never_ abandon you and our child."

"I don't want it." She said, her eyes filling with tears. "I'll go home and get a… a…"

The Doctor winced as though she had dealt him a blow. "Rose, this is our _baby_." His eyes implored her to understand him, the hurt she had caused him echoed in his dark eyed. "_My_ baby."

Rose swallowed hard.

"And as much as it would kill me to have to fight you," The Doctor continued, stroking the side of her face, his hand was gentle, but his other, gripping her upper arm, was uncomfortably tight. "I will not let you kill my baby."

* * *

"You are going to let me out." Growled Mickey at the women on the other side of the bars. He held on to Charlotte's arms through the bars. The poker was in his arms and he held it through the bars and to Charlotte's neck.

Charlotte swallowed and passed a small key to the brunette. The woman shakily fit the key in the lock and Mickey pushed the door open. He stormed from the cell without a glance at the two women. He knew exactly where to go.

* * *

Rose held her hand to the subtle rise of her belly as she walked with the Doctor. Her mind was spinning. The Doctor's words were like a slap to her face waking her up. As she rubbed her hand over the bump, she wondered how she could have said she didn't want it. A reaction to the situation, she supposed. She knew in her heart that she could never kill a baby, let alone the Doctor's baby. It had all happened too fast, and Rose deeply regretted her words. The Doctor's whole planet had burned, and yet she told him she could willingly destroy his own child?

She reached forward as they walked to hold his hand. She squeezed it and when he looked down at her, she saw years of pain in the lines of his face.

"I'm sorry." She knew it wasn't enough. "I was just shocked is all. Of course I want it. I'd be…" She took a deep breath and smiled. "I'd be proud to have your baby."

"Good." He said simply, smiling proudly at her. He bent to kiss her. Rose put a hand on his chest and deepened the kiss until they were both shaking and flushed.

"Maybe when we get back to the TARDIS…" She said, suggestively, holding his face close to hers as they both gasped.

He nodded and kissed her lightly. "As much as I want to, I don't think this is the sort of place for it."

He drew away and kept her hand as they opened another door that led to yet another corridor.

Maybe it was the hormones but she suddenly felt as though her baby was not safe enough. The little bundle of life, part of the Doctor, which she held hidden inside of her was too vulnerable. She had to protect it better. She rubbed her hand over it. _It'll be okay, baby._ She thought to it, sending it love.

He released her hand and leaned an ear to the mud wall, his eyes intense, his mouth parted slightly. He sniffed the air and grabbed her hand again as he preceded on track.

The Doctor was perspiring with stress. He could not remember ever being so close to utter panic. He turned the corner and froze.

"Mickey!" Rose gasped in relief. Her grin fell at the expression on his face.

He stood at the end of the tunnel, his face livid. He drew a deep breath through his nose. "Rose. She's pregnant."

The Doctor stepped in front of Rose protectively. "Now, Mickey, I know this isn't you. You're sick. Let me help you."

Mickey advanced slowly, his eyes burning with rage.

"I don't have time for this!" The Doctor snapped. He held a hand to Rose, indicating her to stay, and strode forward to meet Mickey. "I will not let you hurt Rose. What I _will_ do, is make you better, and then take you hom—"

Mickey swung his fist out and the Doctor recoiled, both hands on his nose as he fell back to sprawl against the wall.

"Doctor!" Rose yelled but he held up his hand.

"Stay where you are Rose." His voice cracked and blood flowed freely from his nose.

Mickey turned to Rose. "_I_ want you Rose. You don't belong to that freak, and that baby should be mine." He advanced on her. "It's disgusting that you'd mate with a nonhuman, and the baby will be a freak of nature."

The Doctor was shaking with anger as he watched Mickey walk closer to Rose. He had to be rational, he thought as he swiped at his bloody nose with his arm, leaving a trail of shiny blood on his jacket. Mickey was infected; this wasn't his fault. He tried to think logically, but somehow his brain could only seem to think of protecting Rose. He bared his teeth where he leaned up against the wall, breathing heavily, spraying blood and saliva.

"Mickey," Rose held out her hands, "Just—" Her eyes went out of focus and she swayed.

"Rose!" The Doctor made to run to her but, faster than blinking, Mickey spun and pinned him to the wall, the metal poker turned on its side and pressing against his throat.

The Doctor sputtered for breath and tried to claw at him with his hands but before he could, Mickey delivered a devastating kick to his midsection.

The Doctor grunted and fell to the floor as Mickey released him. "Rose, your life force…" He broke off with a cry of pain as the rod connected with his ribs. "The baby is growing too fast, it's sucking her dry," He made to crawl forward but the rod met his back and he fell flat on the ground. "Mickey, you have to let me help her!"

Rose leaned up against the wall, one hand clutching her stomach. She slid down it slowly, her eyes heavy.

"You did that to her." Mickey said and aimed a vicious kick. The Doctor curled around the injury. "It's your fault she's dying. Make me stop."

"I won't hurt you, not when you're sick. I know this isn't you." The Doctor gasped and coughed, blood staining his teeth.

Mickey kicked him three times in the stomach and the Doctor lay, curled on his side, his head in his arms. "I know." He whispered. "I did this to her, it's my fault. Please…just let me fix it."

"Don't bother, I'll fix it myself."

The Doctor lowered his arms from his head and looked in horror at Mickey. The younger man stood facing Rose, his hands tightening around the poker.

Rose gazed up at him in fear, both arms wrapped protectively around the small swelling in her middle. "Please, Mickey, don't do this."

The Doctor took a deep breath. His mind focused on one thing: protecting his family. He lifted himself off the floor and staggered to Mickey. "I'd really advise you to put that down." He growled, his eyes dark with rage as he advanced on him. He seemed to grow bigger, more threatening, with every step. The air seemed to crackle with energy around his body, and every line in his face looked murderous.

There was a flash of fear in Mickey's eyes that was quickly replaced by the hateful fire.

The Doctor snapped. He lunged at Mickey, knocking him to the ground. Taking advantage of his disorientation, the Doctor punched his fist into Mickey's head, and he instantly fell unconscious.

The Doctor panted where he straddled Mickey and rubbed his hand, ashamed of his resort to violence. He got up gingerly and limped to Rose.

Tears coursed down her cheeks. "You okay?" She whispered to him.

He nodded and knelt down with a grimace, pressing his fingers to her temples and leaning his forehead against hers.

This time Rose felt four hearts beating. Two were the Doctors, one was hers, and one was their baby's. Her family was inside of her, the two she cared about most in the universe, within her protective body. She wanted to reach her arms around the Doctor, to hold him against her, but she was too weak.

_Think: slow. _The Doctor breathed slowly against her and she followed him, taking note of the control he had over his body and allowing her own to reflect it. _Slow. Safe. _The Doctor's thoughts were layered with relaxation and warmth. His hand slipped under her shirt and rested on the slight swelling over her abdomen. He kissed her firmly, his hand resting on her. She tasted blood on his lips but it didn't seem to bother her as much as it normally would. The blood simply assimilated into her own body.

He pulled out of her mind slowly and Rose felt herself grow a little stronger. "Doctor." She whispered and kissed his swollen lip again. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll figure everything out, Rose." He said, stroking her hair. "I'll fix Mickey, I'll fix the wormhole, I'll return every willing person to their home, and I'll eradicate the bacteria. Then I'll… I'll go to earth and let you domesticate me for eighteen years, how does that sound?"

"You don't do domestic."

"You're right, but I can pretend." His hand rubbed her mid drift. "This is a good thing." He said, "It's our baby." His eyes were bright as he held her gaze. His left eye was rapidly turning black with bruising and his nose was bright red and dark with broken blood vessels and turned slightly further to the side then it usually did.

"Is Mickey going to be okay?"

He raised himself up with a groan of pain and looked over at the other man. He stumbled to his feet and fell on his knees next him, both hands on his temples. When he released them, Mickey sat up swiftly, looking around him and then moaning at the pain in his head.

"What happened?" Mickey looked at the Doctor. "You don't looks so good, Boss."

The Doctor smiled and took the long rod from him, examining it. He smelled the end of it, and grimaced. "This is a device for experimenting with the bacteria. Where did you get it?"

Mickey shrugged. "No idea, the last thing I remember is being in a cell and being sick to my stomach. No sign of you, by the way."

"Hmm." The Doctor tapped the poker against the floor idly. "I think they did this to you on purpose. They wanted to test it on you."

Mickey rubbed at his head again. "Where's Rose, then? She's normally stuck to you like glue."

"She's…" The Doctor whipped around.

Rose was gone.

* * *

A/N heh heh heh I'm evil. Please review!! I might be able to update again by Friday:)


	13. Confinement

Sorry about the late update. I knew this would happen though, that's why I was hoping to get as much of the story done last week as I could. I'm back at my University now and won't have as much time to write.

I'll update as much as I can in the next couple weeks before I get too much work. I really want to finish this story up pretty soon so I can get started on my next (oh, and finish my other one!).

Thanks to:

Kirsten-Korona, Caroline: Sorry you don't like where it's going, maybe you'll like my next story after this better :), WeepingAngel123, Whirlwind421, News for parrots (love the pen name, monty python?), elvespiratesandcowboysohmy, vix, Kirsten, KelKat9, dame rose tyler, Namesake, angelthree117, Team Guy of Gisborne, Kimcicle, Doobrey Ferkin, Anon, SciFiGeek14

Previously_: Mickey rubbed at his head again. "Where's Rose, then? She's normally stuck to you like glue."_

"_She's…" The Doctor whipped around._

_Rose was gone._

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 13: Confinement

The Doctor spun where he stood in confusion. "Oh this is not good. Not good." He pulled at his hair with his hands, chose a direction, and began walking when Mickey called out.

"Oi, Doctor."

The Doctor grimaced. "Okay, yes, I'll help you up, but stay with me this time and don't wonder off."

"No," Mickey dug into his pocket and withdrew something long, metallic, and blue.

The Doctor's eyes widened like a kid at Christmastime. "My sonic screwdriver! Where did you find it?" He snatched it from his hands and held it to his chest, kissing it. "Missed you!"

"Right, while you get freaky with your screwdriver, I'm going to find Rose so we can get out of here before it gets too disturbing."

The Doctor ignored him and turned a dial holding it out before him. "That way." He pointed down the tunnel. He clapped a hand on Mickey's back, leading him with him.

"How do you know?"

"I'm clever. And the sonic screwdriver helps."

"You can tell Rose is this way?" Mickey huffed to keep up with him, but both men limped, looking the worse for their fight with each other.

"I can tell that my son is. It's to do with him being half Time Lord."

"Your _son?"_

"Oh, yes, Rose is pregnant." The Doctor said matter of factly. "And it's a boy."

There was a long stretch of silence which the Doctor broke. "So where _did_ you find my sonic screwdriver?"

"Nicked it off Charlotte."

"Getting friendly with the locals?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"You obviously got a little friendly with Rose, mate." Mickey said, his voice low. "Didn't think you two were like that."

"Yes, well, I'm surprised I still had a viable cell left after what you did to me." He held the sonic screwdriver up to his ear as he walked.

"Sorry about that." Mickey said, slapping the Doctor's back as they walked. "Congratulations."

The Doctor flashed him a grin. "Thanks! Do me a favor, set the screwdriver to setting five and three quarters." He tossed the sonic screwdriver to Mickey and he caught it.

The Doctor dug into his pockets and pulled out a small electronic device. "When the bleepy thing goes off, we're close to a wormhole and I'd really like to avoid accidentally going through another one of those today." He muttered in explanation.

"A what?"

"Oh, Rose and I spent a day or so on a lovely yacht in the Carribbean. Had Sex on the Beach with a couple of teenagers, ate papaya, stitched my own chest up and restarted my heart--that was fun, and went deep sea diving. Nice holiday. Only got back a few hours ago."

Mickey looked incredulously at the Doctor. "Are you pulling my leg?"

The Doctor frowned at Mickey and raised his hands. "We both know I'm not, what an odd thing to say."

"You had sex on a beach with teenagers?"

"Oh yes, it was delicious. I had Rose's share though--what with her being pregnant--it was lovely."

Mickey gaped at him. The Doctor shrugged. "Whats the big deal, don't you humans have it a lot?"

"Well, I guess sometimes, but typically not with strange teenagers..." Mickey's eyes widened as he caught sight of movement behind the Doctor.

"So I had a drink, kill me!"

"Doctor!" Mickey yelled, but a hand was clapped over his mouth. A wet cloth pressed up against him and before he passed out, he saw the Doctor collapse as well.

* * *

Mickey woke to find Rob hovering over him. "Hey, you're with us, then." Rob gave Mickey a hand to help him up and he took it.

He groaned. He was back in the cell. "They took the Doctor and Rose, and I'm obviously just not important enough, I'm thrown in with the back stock. Well, they've under estimated us, haven't they?" Mickey clapped a hand on Rob's shoulder.

"Why, what do you have planned?"

"Rob, the Doctor will take you to Lisa, but we've got to help him first." He raised the sonic screwdriver.

* * *

The Doctor woke with a groan. His whole body ached. Even breathing hurt. He was staring up at the dirt ceiling. He hauled himself onto his side with a cry of pain. Broken ribs. He slumped where he lay, his lethargic limbs uncooperative.

He was in a small cell, empty save for the small hole that was meant to be a toilet.

"How are you feeling?"

He looked up at the woman, gasping where he lay on his stomach now, breath rasping heavily. Her gaze was surprisingly caring and at the same time, intensely curious.

"My name is Charlotte." She held the poker that Mickey had attacked him with. He made to get up. He gritted his teeth against the pain but when he managed to find his feet, they would not hold him, and he fell to the side and against the wall.

"You've drugged me." He gasped as her face swam and blurred. He slid down the wall slowly to slump in a heap against the bars.

"Oh yes. Just a precaution at the moment."

"Are you going to use that?"

Charlotte looked at the device in her hands then set it down. "Of course not. You're too valuable."

"What did you do to Rose?" He gazed up at her with unfocused eyes, leaning against the wall.

"She's comfortable. And so is the baby."

"I want to see her."

"Maybe later." Charlotte dropped down next to the Doctor and reached through the bars. He tried to pull away, but was too weak. She held his hand, stroking it gently.

"We've been waiting so long for someone like you."

* * *

Rose woke to find herself in a very comfortable bed. She did not open her eyes immediately, but instead, nestled her face deeper into the pillow. She wondered vaguely where the Doctor would take her today and smiled at the possible adventures that may follow. As she turned her body into the mattress, the small bulge in her lower abdomen pressed into the soft sheets. Her eyes shot open as the memories came flooding back. The Doctor making love to her, the wormhole, her pregnancy, the Doctor and Mickey fighting…

She sat bolt upright in bed, panting and looking wildly around her.

The room was small, but the vaulted ceiling and red drapery gave the appearance of more space and warmth.

A fire crackled in a stone hearth and several round candles burned around the room.

Her eyes focused on the small wooden door across the room and she lurched out of the bed.

Tugging at the handle, she found it predictably locked.

Spinning, her eyes searched the room and landed on a small window above the bed. She jumped up onto the bed, stumbling a bit as her feet were sucked into the plushy mattress, and peered out the dingy window.

To her shock, horror, and relief, she found herself looking at the back of the Doctor. He lay in what looked like a cell. She watched as he scrambled to his feet and she grinned, hope blooming in her chest. His legs wobbled and he fell against the wall. Her heart sank as she watched him slide down the wall and against the bars.

Charlotte stood before him and Rose glared daggers at the woman. She did not look like she wanted to hurt him however. More over, as she knelt down beside the Doctor, she looked concerned, almost worried. She put a hand through the bars to hold the Doctor's hand.

The door behind her opened and she tore her ruefully eyes from the Doctor's limp form to look behind her.

"How are you feeling, Miss?" A brunette young woman held a candle before her.

"I want to see the Doctor."

The young girl nodded. "This Doctor is the father?"

"Y-yes… why?"

"He's very special."

Rose frowned, her head cocked in confusion. "If you think he's so special, why do you have him locked in a cage?"

"It's only temporary. Charlotte will move him soon and when she is finished with him, we'll all get a chance."

"Don't you dare hurt him." She snapped.

The woman looked confused. "We wouldn't dream of hurting him, he's the one we've been waiting for."

"What do you mean, 'waiting for'?"

She touched Rose's arm and smiled. "You have a miracle inside you."

"Well, it's my baby, yes." Rose said, stiffening at the touch.

"It's a boy."

"Is it?"

"We haven't conceived a male in over two hundred years."

Rose swallowed hard, beginning to understand what they wanted the Doctor for.

* * *

"Why have you... been waiting..." The Doctor struggled to remain conscious but a thick fog seemed to be creeping steadily through his brain.

"We haven't been able to conceive a male since the outbreak. I opened the wormhole myself. If I hadn't done it, we would have died out. And now a miracle:you."

"You created the wormhole? How?"

"That need not concern you."

"We-ll I'd say yes it does very much concern me--it's sort of my field."

"I don't know who you are, or how you came to be here, but you are a gift to our society, and you will help us."

"Yes, yes I will help you but not in the way you think I will."

Charlotte reached through the bars to stroke his hair. "This needs to be done. You have a lot of work to do." She withdrew her arms.

The Doctor scrambled to find purchase with his uncooperative limbs when he heard the cell door open. Sweat trickled down his temple and he struggled to focus his eyes. "There's got to be another way." He slurred, hardly able to control his lips enough for words. "The bacteria have caused the male species to be too violent, it's nature's defense to prevent the male sex from conception. I can help you, I can..."

"You will help a great deal, I'm sure."

The Doctor shook his head, then deeply regretted it when his stomach felt sick. "What I can to is eradicate the bacteria, or find you a new planet."

"It's okay, hush now. It's all going to be okay."

His nose twitched as the warm scent grew stronger. Incense burned straight under his nose and his brain grew more difficult to control. Charlotte hovered over him but all he could see was the faint blur of a woman.

She caressed his face tenderly.

"Hush. I'll take you somewhere more comfortable, don't worry now."

* * *

A/N sorry this is a short chapter but I'm exhausted from packing and then moving in all day.

I'll update by Sunday definitely if not sooner.

Please review!


	14. Gambit

A/N: Ok, so first off, I have to say I was BLOWN away when I went to my inbox after posting my last chapter and found FORTY messages—all reviews and alert adds! I can't tell you how much that means to me, guys! Thank you all so much! Even if you don't review, the fact that you add me to your alerts is so kind!

When I get so many reviews like that, I really try to update as fast as I can, and I'm deeply sorry for the time this one took—university is getting in the way!

Thanks especially to: elvespiratesandcowboysohmy, Namesake, Kirsten, Kelkat9, angelthree117, SciFiGeek14, Team Guy of Gisborne, Ingrid, WeepingAngel123, Enceludus, Crowded Mind, pipinheart, Lady Caitlin of Illinois, Whirlwind421, Kirsten-Korona, and Snguine Ink.

This might border on M, just to warn you.

This is my favorite chapter so far, I hope you guys like it too!

* * *

Previously: _The Doctor's nose twitched as the warm scent grew stronger. Incense burned straight under his nose and his brain grew more difficult to control. Charlotte hovered over him but all he could see was the faint blur of a woman._

_She caressed his face tenderly._

"_Hush. I'll take you somewhere more comfortable, don't worry now."_

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 14: Gambit

The Doctor fought to keep his eyes open, but even as the guard grabbed him at the biceps and hauled him brutally to his feet, he could feel his eyes closing and his weak limbs begin to give up their feeble attempts to fight. His legs would not hold him, however, and the guard was forced to half drag, half carry him from the cell.

Something heavy fell from his pocket and Charlotte picked it up curiously. "Electromagnetic anomaly detector?" She asked the Doctor.

"That's right." He wheezed. The left side of his ribcage was obviously very badly injured from Mickey's beating and the guard's jostling caused the pain to flare up even stronger. He took a rasping breath, preparing to talk, only to find out that his lungs were filling with liquid. "You've created a wormhole—" He stopped short and allowed a cough to rip through his chest. He tasted blood.

Charlotte threw the device on the floor and it shattered. "My dear, you are not well. Never mind. This won't take long, and then you can go on your way."

The guard led him into a small room and let go of his arms. His drugged legs would not hold him and he stumbled into the room and fell on to a cushion of large, thick blankets.

The room was small and dimly lit. Incense burned in the four corners of the room and a few candles placed in the room revealed the heavy purple smoke they created. A small pool of water lay in the center of the room in an ornamental basin. Most of the floor was covered with layers of blankets.

The Doctor coughed, his throat constricting as the smoke penetrated his lungs. He could feel something liquid trickle into his lungs but he did not want to think about it. The incense made his head dizzy and he blinked when his vision began to blur. The shape of Charlotte drew closer to where he lay, propped on his elbows. The burred form of her white draped body grew very close and he suddenly felt a weight on his hips as she straddled him. She bent forward and lay her hands against his chest. Her face drew very close to him and she rubbed her nose against his neck.

"Didn't think it would be enjoyable, but I was wrong." Her whisper ghosted over his neck and down his back, raising goosebumps on his flesh. She rubbed her face up to his ear and bit the lobe gently, pressing her body firmly against him. She eased him out of his jacket slowly, and the Doctor's weak arms could do nothing to stop her.

"That's not going to work on me." The Doctor slurred. The smoke was gradually making him feel more loopy and all he could do was hold on to his self awareness as much as possible. He had to remember who he was, where he was, and who he was with. If he lost his grip, he shuddered to think what might happen.

"It already is." Charlotte reached a hand down and the Doctor cursed. The drugs were causing his body to betray him.

He stopped breathing.

Charlotte drew back and put a hand on his chest. "You can't hold your breath forever."

_No, I can't. _He thought furiously_. But I'd be damned if I didn't try._

Charlotte returned her hand under his fly and grasped a little too hard. The Doctor whimpered in pain, his eyes watering, and his stomach lurched sickly. Completely at her mercy, he remained as still as he could, fearful of the pain she could cause if she wanted to. He scanned his foggy brain for some kind of fact to distract her.

"Perthclo?" He managed to push from his lungs. "You're humans… year 2032 of New Milky Way, specifically of planet Perthclo. That means it would be 4040 on Earth."

Charlotte nodded as she shifted her hands to undo his tie. The confirmed knowledge seemed to clear his head a bit.

"What happened? Perthclo was a very technologically advanced planet. Blimey, you guys invented the aero particle collider for interstellar mapping! You're brilliant! Who brought the bacteria to you, who infected you? What caused you to go underground?"

Charlotte withdrew slightly. The knowledge of the planet's name stimulated the Doctor's mind and the more he thought, the more his head cleared. He took a breath, replenishing his respiratory bypass. The drugs were affecting him less and less.

"Never mind that, please," She begged, and fumbled at his trousers. "I have to do this."

As the Doctor's vision cleared, he was stunned to see tears glistening on Charlotte's cheek. He felt strength begin to return to his limbs. As swiftly as he could in his injured state, he pulled Charlotte's hands away and lifted her by the hips. He slid her off his lap to sit beside him and he sat up with a spasm of pain as his broken ribs protested.

"Tell me what happened," He gasped, "I can help."

"I need to… for the planet, Doctor. If I don't conceive a male, they will take me from my thrown, and they will…. They will…" She gasped and put a shaking hand to her mouth. "Doctor they will lynch me if I don't do this. I promised them I'd bring an end to it. I promised them I could figure something out, find men so the planet doesn't die out…"

"But you over shot when you created that wormhole." The Doctor said, shrugging his jacket back on with difficulty. "You reached through time as well as space. It can't have been far off year 2000 on earth when I went through that wormhole." He stood gingerly and strode to the wall. He put a hand on the edge of the shelf that protruded from the wall to steady himself, then threw the burning incense into the water.

"I know." Charlotte whispered. "I knew it would be dangerous, and it was a random year I found, but I had to do something."

"You moved underground." The Doctor continued as he limped to the next wall. Charlotte flinched as he threw the next pot of incense into the water with a splash. "Is everything underground, or are there people out there on the planet, somewhere?"

"We are the first underground. It's an experiment. We went into the desert to be far away from the ruins of the cities, but they are dying up there." She pointed a finger to the ceiling. "I had to do this. All men are bastards. They're destroying our world and turning us into animals."

"Men can be bastards, yes." He said, as he tightened his tie and looked as though he were seriously considering the description. "But I wouldn't say _all_ men are bastards. Avoid generalities... they'll get you in trouble one day."

"The men on this _planet_ are bastards." Charlotte amended with a contemptuous snarl.

"Oh, yeah, men are from Mars. We-ll, in this case, men are from Earth, women are from Perthclo. Not as catchy."

Charlotte glared at him. "_You_ are a bastard."

The Doctor raised his hands. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, but having a penis doesn't make me a bad person, nor does it mean the sane men you have trapped and drugged in cells like animals are bad people." He throw the third pot of incense a little too hard, caused the water to spill over the edge of the basin.

Charlotte looked ashamed. "If you had seen what I have up there, you'd know why I don't trust men."

"What does the old Milky Way have to say about what's happened here?" The Doctor couldn't help the sympathy in his voice as he walked to the final pot and tossed it into the water.

"Earth has abandoned us. We are in quarantine. They won't even communicate with us, they've cut us off completely." She spat, furious tears leaking from her eyes.

"Ahhh." The Doctor let out his breath slowly as realization sunk in. He regarded her sharply. "So you didn't over shoot, did you? You _meant_ to connect to Earth's past. They abandoned you, so you decided to get back at them, eh? You go back in their time line before they've even started settling other planets. They wouldn't have any way of detecting it because they don't have the sophisticated technology that you have. But oh!" He pulled at his hair, his eyes wide. "you'll create a paradox!"

"No, it's only in an ocean on earth, we only get the humans that cross directly through it—their boat will sink, and they are brought here. That's all it will do. It's harmless."

"Wormholes are two way!" The Doctor yelled and instantly regretted it when Charlotte recoiled.

"Please, don't hurt me."

He sighed, looked at her sympathetically, and spoke gently. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not infected. You and your society have learned to fear men, I understand that. The fear has caused you to go to extreme measures to control them. The more people you bring through that wormhole though, the bigger it will tear. Eventually the bacteria will get through…it's only a matter of time, and Earth will be infected. You'll create a paradox and your world will disappear."

Charlotte swallowed as she looked up at him. "I thought it was working. The men who wash up in the birth pool go to the holding cells, the woman to another location."

"Birth pool?"

"It's what we call the water with the wormhole."

"'Death pool' seems more appropriate, or 'pool of time and space fluctuation and eventual enslavement to all who pass through'. Doesn't have quite the same ring I'll admit it needs a bit of work, but nonetheless, this experiment has to end. Take me your laboratory, _now_."

* * *

Rose sunk to the bed. The Doctor had been taken from the cell an hour ago. She wanted to scream, to rage against the wall and demand to see the Doctor, to threaten them, to curse everything about the place, but instead, she weakly lay back on the bed.

Her baby was killing her. The words rang in her mind when she thought them. She loved it, but it was killing her. It was growing too fast, and the Doctor was not with her.

When she closed her eyes, she saw the Doctor being tortured and raped. When she opened them, she saw the locked door and her impending death while the baby leached her of her life force.

Just as the despair began to settle over her, a very familiar sound buzzed faintly outside her door. She leapt from the bed just as the door swung open. "Doct--!" Her face fell, but then she grinned when she recognized Mickey's features. "Mickey."

He tossed the sonic screwdriver fondly and caught it again. "Took me long enough to find the right setting… may have blew something up in the cell."

She lunged into his arms. "How did you get past the guards?" She said breathlessly in his tight arms.

"Stronger in numbers!" Was Mickey's response. "I released all the cells."

Rose looked over his shoulder and recognized the man, Rob, and behind him, a large group of men. She drew back from Mickey and took Rob's offered hand.

"I don't think we had a proper meeting last time, name's Rob."

"Rose." She said, and looked around at the other men. "I'm Rose," She said to the crowd. "And the Doctor's going to get you all out of here."

* * *

The Doctor entered the laboratory and quickly scoped it out with his highly trained eyes. The room was extremely large and filled with equipment. He paused to cough up the liquid that had pooled in his lungs while he had talked to Charlotte.

"Very tidy, I'm impressed." He choked with a nod and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "But then again, it is controlled by women… much neater than men—oh, that was sexist. Never mind, great big laboratory--molto bene." He bounded to a twelve foot high cylindrical machine, drawing his glasses from his breast pocket and perching them on his nose with a flourish. "Oh, what's this? Am I on the right track?" He ignored the pain in his body as his enthusiasm for the gadgets lent him strength.

Charlotte was not looking at him. Her hand was to her head as though she were kneading a troublesome ache. She sniffed and stared at the ground.

The Doctor's eyes lingered sympathetically on her for a second before returning to the machine. It was composed of two large glass cylinders and connected at the top with a metallic bridge. Beneath the glass each cylinder contained several braided wires that seemed to hum with energy. The underside of the bridge sported tangles of wires and what looked like a shower head. Another receptacle was positioned at the bottom directly under the bridge and pointing back up at it. A gossamer yellow line of light connected them.

"Oo, here we are." He said, his hands around the cylinder as he gazed up at the light. "This is really quite exquisite, Charlotte, you _are brilliant_." He said with admiration, running his hands along the glass shell. "But, unfortunately, I have to destroy it." He reached under the lower receptacle and closed his hand around the wire.

The sudden silence in Charlotte's direction caused him to look up and he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

"You… keep a gun in your laboratory?" He said slowly and gulped. "I _really_ don't like guns." He said, half groaning.

Charlotte's hands trembled around the gun. "I can't let you destroy my work, Doctor."

He raised his hands and slowly stood from his crouched position. "I can help your planet, I promise, but first, I need to destroy this machine before it destroys earth and the entire future of the human race." He hesitated, then took a step to her.

She stumbled back. "Stay where you are!" She shouted.

The Doctor froze. "Charlotte... listen. You need me, you know you do. Not only for your sordid purposes, but for the bacteria. I can reverse the effects in the brain. I know I can, because I already have."

"I don't believe you."

"Charlotte, you are clever, almost as clever as me. Just think about the paradox you're creating just for a tic." He gazed at the gun for a second, then bravely turned his back on it to face the machine. "You shoot me." He said, glad his unconvinced face was hidden from view.

"I've put too much in to this project." The gun clicked as it set and the Doctor swallowed and closed his eyes. He tightened his grip on the wire, and mentally counted to three.

* * *

A/N Probably Only a couple chapters left!

Please review!


	15. Duty

Thanks for the reviews!!!! Thanks to: news for parrots, Generated Anomoly, elvespiratesandcowboysohmy, pipinheart, WeepingAngel123, Ingrid, emchelle, Whirlwind421, Kirsten, Team Guy of Gisborne, Doobrey Ferkin, SciFiGeek14, Enceludus, Kelkat9, and Sanguine Ink.

So I took the Doctor's advice last night at a club and had Sex on the Beach (the drink, it's way too cold on the beach by where I live for THAT!), but the Doctor was right—it seriously was delicious.

Anyway, on with the next chapter!

* * *

_Previously: "Charlotte, you are clever, almost as clever as me. Just think about the paradox you're creating just for a tic." He gazed at the gun for a second, then bravely turned his back on it to face the machine._

_"You shoot me." He said, glad his unconvinced face was hidden from view._

_"I've put too much in to this project." The gun clicked as it set and the Doctor swallowed and closed his eyes. He tightened his grip on the wire, and mentally counted to three._

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 15: Duty

The Doctor's normally cool hands sweat against the wire, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Every nerve in his body was aware of the gun at the back of his head. A bead of sweat ran down his temple to rest on his glasses, revealing the stress that his smooth face did not. _One._ He counted in his mind.

Charlotte's fingers shook on the trigger.

_Two. _The Doctor held his eyes closed and listened. He concentrated on the sounds of the room, the thundering of his hearts and of Charlotte's.

"Charlotte." Rose's small voice cut through the strained silence and the Doctor's eyes flew open. The corner of his lip pulled down in dismay.

"You shouldn't have come here, Rose—" He promptly stopped talking when he felt the gun press harder to the back of his head.

"Charlotte, you don't want to do this." Her voice shook.

"Actually, I do." Charlotte let tears fall freely down her cheeks. "It's our only chance—and it's my responsibility."

"The Doctor will help you, he'll—hang on, how do you mean its your responsibility?"

"Hush, Rose—" The instant the Doctor spoke, the gun was pressed harder to his skull, forcing him back and pinning him to the machine. He hated himself for whimpering in front of Rose. The side of his cheek and lips mashed against the glass and he squeezed his eyes shut. His hand was slippery on the wire and he let it go finally.

The gun drew back and the Doctor peeled his face from the glass leaving smudges of saliva and sweat.

"Now, step back." Charlotte ordered.

The Doctor nodded slowly as he turned around and stepped back and to the side so he was directly in front of the heart of the machine. Rose's frightened face met his and behind her, Mickey stood, sonic screwdriver in hand.

"Charlotte..." Rose spoke quietly. "What is your responsibility? The wormhole?"

Charlotte's hand shook on the gun. "The infection. It's my fault. It was an experiment. I was put in charge of the research development for interstellar exploration—"

"To boldly further human conquest." The Doctor said quietly. "Continue the expansion."

"Shut up." Charlotte spat at him, and the Doctor quieted. "I probed a planet for its resources and I found water—it was habitable, but no life other than desert and rush."

"That was planet Sefryn. It was destroyed by an unknown infection… and you brought it here—"

"_Shut up!_" Charlotte reached an arm out and hit the Doctor's mouth with the side of the gun. He spun to the side with impact, hands clenched around his jaw. He spat blood from his mouth and returned to his position directly in front of the machine.

"Doctor!" Rose made to run forward but Charlotte trained the gun on her, eyes swapping between the Doctor and Rose.

"Stand _back!_"

The Doctor took one look at Rose's face, then closed his eyes.

"This ends now." On the Doctor's words, Charlotte spun the gun to his form again.

His breath was too loud. He stopped breathing. His hearts were racing; he slowed them down. He heard two heartbeats coming from Rose, he heard Mickey's thumping fast, and finally Charlotte's frantic heart. He ignored all other sounds and concentrated on Charlotte. He could feel the vibrations through the air as her chest heaved with her breath. He could hear her finger on the trigger of the gun.

The Doctor flung himself to the floor just as a bang tore through the air. Moments later a hissing sound erupted from behind him.

The Doctor pulled himself off the floor as Charlotte gave an agonized scream. The floor shook as one of the large cylinders of the machine emitted steam from the rupture, the bullet lodged in its heart.

Charlotte ran to the machine, caressing it lovingly. "My baby." She whispered. The Doctor ran forward to pull the wire. A spark leaped from the golden thread and it snapped.

"It's over, Charlotte. No more planets should suffer this."

Rose and Mickey saw Charlotte spin while the Doctor was focusing on the machine.

Charlotte gave another howl of anguish and aimed the gun at the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Rose made to run but Mickey held her back, pushing her to the side as he ran.

He slammed into the Doctor, knocking him to the ground just as the gun fired for a second time. Pain erupted in the back of Mickey's shoulder as the bullet lodged in the bone, halted on its way to the Doctor's chest. Where he lay on the Doctor, both men panting, too stunned to speak, Mickey flinched as he heard another shot of the gun.

He rolled himself off of the Doctor to sprawl on the floor.

The Doctor stared up at the ceiling, his face splattered lightly with Mickey's blood. He raised his head and saw Charlotte's body slumped against the smoking machine, blood streaming from the side of her head, the gun beside her limp hand.

"No." He whispered from where he lay, staring at the body.

Rose ran to Mickey and the Doctor tore his eyes away the gruesome sight. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and watched Rose helping the other man up. Mickey screwed up his face in pain, his hand clutching the arm that held the bullet.

"You took a bullet for me." He breathed, his stunned voice making him sound simple.

"Doctor, come on, we need to go." Rose said, reaching over Mickey to slap the Doctor's arm.

"Yes, right." The Doctor got to his feet and crouched down to get Mickey up. He slipped an arm around his back under his arm and helped him sit up. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He said as Mickey cried out with the movement. "Rose, look after him, I've got to go."

"What do you mean, where are you going?" Rose shot the Doctor a scandalized look as she took Mickey in her arms.

"We don't have time to move him. I'm going to get the TARDIS, and then I'm going to find the sample Charlotte took from Sefryn. Get this planet back on track." Mickey held the screwdriver out in a trembling hand, and the Doctor took it, one hand squeezing the man's uninjured shoulder.

Rose swallowed as she looked at the Doctor with pleading eyes. "You get back fast, I don't like you going alone."

The Doctor smiled and Rose looked up at him expectantly. "You won't even know I'm gone." He winked and left the room at a run.

Rose paused dejectedly for a second.

Mickey chuckled lightly albeit strained, as he clutched his arm to him. "The Doctor's got a lot to learn about being a boyfriend. Always kiss goodbye."

"Don't be ridiculous." She said, using her sleeve to wipe his sweating brow. "I don't want to change him."

* * *

The Doctor closed the door of the room and froze. The hall outside the room was filled with a crowd of men. On his appearance, all began talking at once, jostling to get to the front of the crowd.

"Quiet-ah!" The Doctor yelled, pointing a finger to the ceiling. "Now, does any one know where the nearest air shaft exit to the surface is?"

It was Rob who spoke. "The air shafts are all on the northern end because the sand is shallowest there. Charlotte and her people used another exit."

"Right, great, where is it?"

Rob took the taller man's arm. "I'll take you there."

* * *

Rose kissed Mickey's head as he clung to her. "Hang in there." She murmured. "The Doctor will be back soon."

She avoided looking at Charlotte's body.

"I couldn't let her shoot him." Mickey gasped against her. "He's too important, Rose."

"I'd agree with you," She hoped keeping a conversation up would help him deal with the pain. "But I doubt he would. The Doctor always says we're all important."

"I don't mean to the universe, Rose. He's a father now."

Rose swallowed and nodded. "Yes."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"What are you going to do?"

"I… I don't know. The Doctor said he'd settle down for a bit, but I wonder if he'll be able to." Her voice hitched as she drew a breath.

"He always does the right thing."

Rose nodded and brushed a furious tear. "She killed herself." She whispered as she raised her eyes to Charlotte's body. Something shone and caught her eye. "Hang on a second, what's that?" She carefully removed her hands from Mickey, making sure he was steady before she released him.

She desperately wanted to avert her eyes as she approached the body, but as she drew closer, she saw the vial more clearly. It hung on a string around the dead woman's neck. She pulled it from her carefully, avoiding the cold flesh as best as she could.

* * *

The Doctor gave a small wave with his fingers as the lift he stood in closed before the group of men. There were no buttons except for an emergency alert switch. When it began to rise, he slumped against the wall. The lift was bright white and sterile looking. Now that he was standing still, waiting, he felt exhaustion creeping up on him. It was rare that he was so manhandled in one trip, and he rubbed his aching jaw bitterly. He leaned his head against the cool surface and closed his eyes.

He knew it had been a mistake to sleep with Rose. He knew at the time that she was off limits, that he would regret it, and that it would only end in heartbreak. He had been a touch selfish when he had made certain moves that night without her permission. He had acted on instinct and his body's desire had taken over. He felt so human. He thought back to her words before he had entered her mind. _Selfish, s_he had called him. He swallowed and took a deep breath with difficulty, wincing as it aggravated his ribs. Selfish. He nodded as he gathered his thoughts and plans. He had tried not to think of Rose's future with him—it was a sore subject, but now that he was forced to, he reasoned it might not be so frightening after all. Yes he would watch her grow old, but would spending the rest of Rose's life with her really be so terrible?

A smile grew slowly across his face. He had a son now. He had placed the foreign hormone barrier into his son's developing body. He had managed to stop the rapid growth at ten weeks and the Doctor shuddered to think what would happen in a few more hours. Rose would have died before then. But never mind that, he thought with a smile, what's done was done, and he had a healthy son.

The doors opened and he recoiled as a gust of sand and heat that flooded the lift.

Pushing through it, he took hold of the edge of the lift and pulled himself out and into the blazing sun.

Momentarily blinded by the sunlight, he reached inside of himself, searching for the connection he had with the TARDIS. He found it like a tickling nudge to his senses and he trudged through the sand in the direction he knew it to be in.

This was for Mickey, the man who saved his tenth life, and very possibly all future ones too. He was down there, bleeding in Rose's arms for him. He gritted his teeth and moved as fast as his legs could take him, limping through the sand.

He was close, so close. His eyes locked on the blue form, partially covered by sand. Another gust of sand blew into him and he shut his eyes, covering his face as best he could.

His body wanted only to collapse, to lie down in the sand and slip into a healing coma, but he clenched his jaw tightly, staving the instinct off. He had too much work to do.

It seemed an age, but when his hands finally fell against the familiar warm wood, he held back a sob of relief. He paused to dig out the key from his pocket, relishing the comforting metal between his fingers as he found it.

He practically fell in when the door opened inwards. He couldn't help his relieved laugh as he shut the door, stroking it lovingly. "Missed you, old girl."

He ran to console with renewed strength and set the coordinates. He leaned his weight down on the lever, and grinned as he watched the column spring into animation.

* * *

A/N Wow… didn't end a chapter with:

a. character passing out

b. character being hurt

c. character on brink of death

I'm pretty shocked myself!

Please review!


	16. Remedy

It's that time again!

Thanks for all the reviews, thanks to: Team Guy of Gisborne, Whirlwind421, Sanguine Ink, emchelle, Kirsten, Kelkat9, Ingrid, WeepingAngel123, pipinheart, elvespiratesandcowboysohmy, SciFiGeek14, and Doobrey Ferkin! Thank you all so much!

* * *

Chapter 16: Remedy

The TARDIS shuddered slightly and the Doctor pulled the hand brake with a flourish before leaping to the door. When he pulled the door open, his eyes met Rose's, then landed on Mickey, shuddering in her arms, and finally, the small vial clutched in her hand.

"Oh _Rose_," He said, his grin spreading huge across his face. He left the door open and walked jauntily toward her. "You, my dear, are brilliant."

Rose grinned. "I like being called that."

The Doctor drew on his glasses and knelt in front of her to take the vial, examining it closely. He glanced up briefly then back down. "Who doesn't want to be called brilliant?"

"That too… but I was actually thinking… 'my dear'."

He ruffled her hair and stood up, tossing the vial and catching it easily.

Rose blinked, trying not to be annoyed at the Doctor's reaction, then Mickey's slumping form woke her from her reverie. "Doctor, leave that for now, help me, he's passed out."

The Doctor tucked the vial into his jacket pocket. "Right, yes, Micketty-Mickey, graduated from pig tails a frilly skirts." He bounded over and lifted Mickey by the shoulders. "You'll be okay, you'll be just fine." He muttered to the younger man.

Rose took hold of his feet and helped move him into the TARDIS. "He's unconscious, I don't think he can hear you."

"Never underestimate the power of positive words. Into the med bay." The Doctor said, panting slightly as they moved Mickey past the console and in to the back of the TARDIS. The Doctor backed through the door, revealing a sterile environment of stainless steel and various instruments that Rose could not identify. "Over to this bed."

Four beds were positioned in each corner of the room. They settled Mickey on a bed and the Doctor drew the vial out of his jacket. He made to leave the room when Rose put a hand on his arm, gripping firmly. "Doctor! That can wait, he's losing a lot of blood."

"This has to end, now!"

"Mickey saved your life, don't forget."

The Doctor replaced the vial with a sigh. "I won't forget. Okay," He leaped to a steel cart, dragging it over to Mickey's bedside. He spun a nearby chair around and sat. Grabbing a pair of scissors, he cut the sleeve of Mickey's shirt off.

Rose gathered the towels she found in a nearby cupboard and stuffed one around his shoulder to staunch the blood while the Doctor rummaged through the tools.

Rose pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed and watched the Doctor's shaking hands. She reached her hands across the bed and gripped his, steadying them. The Doctor looked up and into her eyes.

"Settle down, eh?" Rose said, stroking a hand down the uninjured side of his face. She felt a pain deep inside of herself as she had the chance to study the injuries he had received to his face. "You're all nervous energy." His one eye was rapidly blooming black as was the side of his jaw. A deep cut, red and inflamed, sliced the corner of his upper lip and the swelling at the bridge of his nose betrayed that it was broken.

"Rose, I'm keeping my heart rate up so I don't go into a coma."

Rose gulped and licked her lips. "A coma? You're injured in other places, aren't you?"

The Doctor broke her gaze and picked up a pair of forceps. He set to work at Mickey's shoulder, drawing the bullet out carefully, his tongue sticking out for concentration. "It'll be much like Christmas." He said as he plucked it out and put it into a metal dish.

"Doctor, where else are you hurt?"

"Hot water?" He held out a bowl to her and nodded to the large basin sink. With one hand, he pinched the bleeding gap together and with the other, picked up a broad metallic object and held it to the wound. A faint buzzing emitted from the device and a small red light shone onto the wound. Immediately the bleeding stopped, coagulating and melding both sides of the wound easily. The Doctor bit his bottom lip and grinned hugely.

Rose placed the hot water bowl next to him and returned to her seat on the other side of the bed. "Well, how long will you be out?"

"Hard to say. I'll be all right, always am." He dabbed a cloth into the hot water and wiped the healing wound. "Heat activates the particles. Isn't that brilliant?" He said with a glance at Rose as though supplying her with the most fascinating information in the universe. He proceeded to dress the wound with gauze.

"Doctor, you'd tell me if you were seriously hurt, wouldn't you?"

"'Course I would." He said, tucking the bandage neatly. He whipped off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, replaced them in his breast pocket. He leaned back in the chair, linking his hands behind his head and stretching. He met her eyes, one corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk. "Beautiful job of that, wouldn't you say?"

Rose couldn't help but smile. "He's going to be okay?"

"He'll be just fine after a good rest."

"I'm surprised at you."

"Why? What do you mean?" His smile faltered and he dropped his hands to his lap, spinning the chair back and forth idly.

"You were all eager to get back to that lab a few minutes ago."

"Oh, I _am_ eager. Love laboratories."

"But you're still sitting." Rose pointed out, her expression sympathetic.

"Just for a tic."

"I've never known you to say that." She rose from the chair and came up behind him.

He looked around quizzically. "Just a second, that's all, then I'll be up. What are you doing?"

Rose looped her arms around his head to rest her hands against his chest. She hesitated briefly then crouched to press a lingering kiss on his neck. She felt the Doctor swallow and take a breath to speak. "I think," She said softly, beating him before he could speak and pressing another kiss up his neck. "that even Time Lords have limits, and you don't want to admit it." She straightened and saw that he had his eyes closed.

"You don't know how hard I'm fighting it." He said quietly, not opening his eyes.

"Don't fight it then! What if you do yourself more harm?"

"I have to fight it. I can't afford to pass out while there's work to be done." He heaved himself out of the chair with a groan and shook his head, his eyes wide. "Hit me, Rose." He said seriously.

"You—_what_?" Rose stared at him as though he had begun to sprout ferns from his ears.

"Hit me!" He motioned with his hands and began hopping lightly on the balls of his feet. "Go _onnn_," He said in a deep voice. "Don't be a chicken."

"I—I can't hit you, why would I do that, you nutter?"

"I dunno, say…I tried to show you my break dance skills."

Rose giggled.

"Okay, that didn't work, and incidentally, if I ever do say that, you have full permission and encouragement to slap me. Let's say I told you that I wanted to land the TARDIS in Tesco's so I can buy them out of pears?"

"That'd never happen."

"Exactly! If I'm ever that loopy you better slap me!"

"I wouldn't slap the mentally ill!" Rose retorted.

"Rose." He stilled and made his voice deathly serious. "I want to destroy all of your clothes while I take advantage of your body for my own squalid purposes and do degrading things to you."

Rose shivered and grinned.

The Doctor cursed as his tactic backfired. "Rose, just hit me, just _DO IT!"_

"Don't yell at me!"

"_I'LL YELL AT YOU IF I WANT T—"_

Rose slapped his cheek hard.

The Doctor sighed and smiled. "_Thank _you." He placed a kiss on her forehead and cricked his neck. "Lovely, nice and awake now, off I go, won't be a tic!"

"You're mad you know?" Rose yelled after him as he bounded to the door. He paused at the door to give her a wink.

* * *

When the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and into the laboratory, he pulled out the vial form his pocket. Rose stepped out behind him.

"You stay in there, it's safer! Mickey might need you." He said when he heard her come out.

"I'm here to help and you know perfectly well that the TARDIS will take good care of him."

"Oh, all right then." He conceded, rubbing his fingers through his hair.

"So what _is_ in that vial?" She said, closing the door behind her.

"Oh, am I glad you asked that, Rose." He said, puckering his lips and speaking as though to a puppy. "What a good companion you are. This," He kissed the vial, dramatically. "Is the first sample Charlotte took from Sefryn. With this little baby, yours truly can make an antidote that the humans here can use without my telepathic help. Aren't I brilliant? I am." He skidded to a cabinet and pulled out a monocular microscope. "Those papers over there!" He pointed across the room and Rose leapt to get them. "And no _running_! Rose, for the baby's sake if not for mine, take it easy!" he ran an exasperated hand through his hair.

Rose whipped around, her eyes wide as she held the papers and walked back to him. "Oh my God. I'm a terrible mother already! I forgot! Wait a second, Doctor, is he still growing? I feel all right."

"At a normal rate, not to worry." He said, receiving the papers from her and rifling through them, eyes scanning rapidly. "And you're not a terrible mother." He said with half a smile.

"What did you do to stop it?"

"His mind had begun to develop." The Doctor poured a small amount of the liquid in the vial onto a slide and slipped it under the microscope. "As soon as it did, I went into it and established a foreign hormone barrier. His body will only respond to human and possibly Time Lord hormones now—the way it should be."

Rose took a stack of papers and went through them as the Doctor adjusted the focus of the microscope. "This might be useful." She pulled a sheet out of the stack. "looks like a chemical formula."

The Doctor snatched it out of her hands and placed his specs back on.

"Does he…" Rose paused and licked her lips. "Doctor, does he have two hearts?"

"Seems biologically like any other human baby."

Rose couldn't help but notice a measure of disappointment in his voice.

"His mind too?"

"We—ll. With my genetics he's bound to be brilliant. His DNA isn't entirely human, or course, and I can sense him." He tapped his head with one finger as he ran to a cabinet and procured different vials of substances.

"You _saw_ our baby then, when you put that hormone whatsit in place?"

"In my minds eye, yes." He looked up at her and smiled. "He's beautiful. In a little slimy human fetal way, that is."

Rose smiled as she held his eyes. "Wow."

The Doctor took a deep breath and broke eye contact. "_Now_. I'll simply mutate the genome of the cells of the bacteria by removing a couple of nucleotides from the DNA."

"You don't need a more… special microscope for that?"

"You're so twenty-first century, Rose, get with the times! Electron microscopes are a basic capability in all microscopes now! Now just splice those little chromosomal beasties and use the gooey stuff here." He used an eye dropper to add another chemical.

"You started off well." Rose noted, her chin in her hands as she watched. "Begin a sentence as a nine hundred year old, end it as five year old."

"I'll try not to make it a habit—yes!" He raised the new vial of mutated cells and looked up at Rose excitedly, his chest heaving as he panted. "I did it!" His eyes promptly rolled to the back of his head and he crumpled against the counter, his grin only faltering when his eyes closed.

"Doctor!" Rose leaped forward and caught his head before it hit the ground and lowered it gently.

His eyes flickered. "I can't fight it." He said groggily.

Rose stared at his bruised face. "But you're so close!"

"You can handle it, Rose, you're brilliant."

"I'll slap you again!"

He smiled and his eyes closed.

Rose glanced up at the TARDIS. Without Mickey's help, she couldn't drag the Doctor inside on her own in her weakened state. She looked up to the vial containing the new substance the Doctor had created. She snatched it from the counter. Stroking his forehead with her thumb, she kissed his lips quickly. "I'll be right back for you."

With one more glance at his prone body, she jogged to the laboratory exit.

* * *

A/N Woohoo! It just feels so much BETTER ending with losing consciousness! Haha, well, I know this is a bit shorter than usual but don't worry, I'll try and update again in a couple days!

Please review!


	17. Leaving

So I am trapped in my place with my flatmates. It's been snowing here since yesterday and we're supposed to get another 18inches on top of the 6 inches we already have. God I hate snow.

While I'm shut in with no chance of going out, I might as well write!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed!!!!! I'll do personal thank you's with the next chapter

* * *

Chapter 17: Leaving

Rose opened the door cautiously. A group of men who had been sitting outside of the room, jumped to their feet when they saw her.

"Um… Hello." Rose said nervously. She looked down either side of the hall but her view was blocked by the men.

"Rose." Rob was bullying his way through the crowd. When he reached her he grabbed her arms firmly. "Your friend, the Doctor, he left up the elevator. I don't know where he is now, he could be anywhere up there."

"He's fine! He's in there." She jerked her head at the lab behind her. Ignoring his confusion, she continued. "He's made an antidote!" She held up the vial triumphantly.

Rob paused for a second, then took her in an enormous hug.

Caught in his arms, Rose peered around. "Where are the guards anyway?"

Rob released her. "Mickey and I knocked them out. There are only a few allowed down here at a time. From what I've learned they have shifts with their guards and test subjects, meaning the women they've found who volunteer to get pregnant. I don't think there's any one else here now, except for Charlotte, where is she?"

"She's dead."

Rob stared. "Dead?"

"Killed herself. She made a wormhole that brought you and your mates here from earth but it's gone now, the wormhole was destroyed. According to the Doctor, this planet is in twenty first century earth's future, when humans colonize other planets. It's the forty-first century on earth right now."

"So we're not on earth, and with the wormhole gone, there's no way back to my time."

"There might… still be a way." Rose said cautiously.

Rob didn't seem to hear. "But more importantly, you said you have the cure for the infection?"

Rose held it up.

"Then let's try it out!"

* * *

When Mickey woke, he initially felt very well. As soon as he moved his arm, however, the contracting muscle pulled at sore ligaments and he clutched his shoulder, memory flooding back.

He sat up quickly, looking around at the metallic environment around him. "Where am I?"

He rose from the bed hesitantly and walked to the door. Pulling it open, he sighed in relief when he saw the familiar patterned walls. "Rose? Doctor?" He called. He crept out of the room. The hall to the console room was dimly lit. "I swear, I'll never forgive them if I walk in on them..." He preceded cautiously, alert for any tell tale moans. He reached the console but there was no one. He didn't know whether to be alarmed or relieved. A crack of light shone through the door and Mickey felt sure it wasn't closed all the way. Pushing it open, he blinked at the bright light, then gasped when he recognized the Doctor's hair from behind a table.

He ran over to him and fell to his knees, shaking his shoulder and chest with both hands. "Doctor! Wake up!" He shook him so hard that his head lolled with the motion. Finally, the Doctor opened his eyes and grimaced.

"_What_?"

"What happened, are you okay? Where's Rose? What's going on?"

The Doctor blinked in confusion and lifted himself up on his elbows. "You woke me too soon." He shivered then hauled himself to his feet using the table and Mickey's help. "Rose is… Rose is…" He frowned and rubbed at his head, leaning against the table. "Oh, my head. I don't know where she is."

"You lost her? How could you leave her on her own, she's pregnant!"

"I'm resisting the enormous urge to hit you right now because you saved my life. Next time you might not be so lucky." The Doctor said testily and walked in the direction of the door. He wobbled and fell against the TARDIS as he passed it, but proceeded to the door.

"Are you on drugs, mate? Shouldn't this mean more to you? It's Rose!"

"Just…Shut up a moment!" He rubbed at his head with another grimace of pain and clutched at the next counter surface as he walked. He threw open the door and stared out at the empty corridor as he leaned against the wall. "Rose?" He called as strongly as he could. A wave of nausea swept over him and blackness threatened to consume him once more. He swallowed the feelings down and began to walk.

* * *

"Better let me do it." Rob took the vial from Rose's hand and approached the man that raged against the bars.

Rose recognized the cells from the Doctor's brief and torturous stay. Each cell had a small window in the top of the wall for viewing. She glared at the window, remembering the horror of her entrapment.

"Rob, he's going to hurt you, I think I'd better do it, actually."

Rob jumped back as the man lunged out for him. "Guess you're right. I wanted to be a gentleman but I don't think I can get near him."

Rose took the vial back. She held out a hand to the man behind the bars. "Just relax." She said, her voice soft and soothing. The man's eyes locked on hers. She reached out and touched his hand. "I'm here to help but I need you to be as calm as you can, yeah?"

"Just use a drop." Murmured Rob. "Let's see how little we need."

"I know." Hissed Rose, not wanting the ill man to hear Rob's voice. "Now shut up." She let a single droplet from the vial onto her finger tip. She hesitated, then brought her hand through the bars. The man didn't move as she brought her fingered nearer. With her other hand, she touched the man's jaw and coaxed him to open his mouth. "There now, that's it." She touched her finger to his mouth and drew back, watching him lick his lips and swallow.

"How do we know how long until it works?" Rob said as he eyed the man.

Rose grinned. "It already has!"

The man's once clouded eyes seemed to clear and he stumbled back from the bars. "Where am I?" He said, looking up at Rose and Rob. The fear in his eyes was heart breaking.

"You're all better now," Rose said. "It's all over."

The sound of the sonic screwdriver permeated the air and the cell door released itself. The man stepped out, gazing around him in confusion.

Rose looked around and her eyes landed on the Doctor. He smiled where he stood. "Heat activated particles." He said airily. "A parasitic relationship there. The bacteria generate fever, increases body heat, the heat activates the good beasties I made and wham! Instantly destroys the fever _because of the fever!_ _" _He grinned and looked from Rose to Rob to the cured as though expecting applause. "Blimey, where's everyone gone?"

"They didn't want to come here. Everyone was scared of this place." Rob looked around at the empty cells. "It's where they did the experiments."

The cured man gazed at Rob. "I've got to find the others!"

"Left down the hall, second door on your right. I think it must be the train or whatever they use to get here."

The Doctor nodded. "I saw it by the lift. You'd call is train. It'll take you to the nearest city. Like the lifts, it's a one way automatic." The man nodded and ran down the hall.

"You have an antidote?" Mickey joined them from behind the Doctor.

"Mickey! How are you feeling?" Rose grinned at him.

"Been better, but not so bad. Think we can get on our way, then?"

The Doctor nodded and leaned his shoulder up against the wall. "I think it's about time we left."

Rob took the vial from Rose's hand and she released it with out noticing, her eyes fixed on the Doctor in a worried frown. "Thought you said you were gonna be out for a while?"

The Doctor nodded. "Mickey the not-so-idiotic-but-rather-brilliant-except-for-times-like-these woke me too soon."

"How was I supposed to know?" Mickey exclaimed in alarm. "Did you just say I was brilliant?"

The Doctor groaned. "Why are my companions always surprised when I call them brilliant?" Rose put a hand to his back when he wobbled just in case. "Do you think I _don't_ selectively choose my companions? Blimey, I don't bring complete idiots on board—that'd be… idiotic." He broke off with a vaguely confused expression. He shook his head slightly then trained his eyes on Rob. "Do you want to go home?"

"Course you want to go home, you need to find your girlfriend, Lisa!" Mickey said as Rob appeared deep in thought.

"Even if I could go home, I'm not sure. Lisa and I… well, our relationship wasn't going too well."

"If you want to go home to twenty first century earth, I can make that happen." The Doctor said groggily.

"No… I don't think I do." He looked at the vial in his hands. "I need to show this to everyone up there and fix this." He nodded his head upward. "I've got work to do."

"Good man." The Doctor said solemnly.

* * *

Rob numbly pulled on the jeans and jumper the Doctor gave him. The Doctor set the coordinates as Rob stared dumbfounded around the console room.

"Bigger on the inside!" He said, spinning and looking up at the vaulted ceiling.

"Suspicions confirmed, thanks for that!" The Doctor said facetiously as he held onto a button with one foot, and stretched for the hand brake. When the TARDIS shuddered and landed, he fell back and into Rose behind him, who laughed and grabbed onto him. "Sorry, love." He grinned at her and pretended to dust her shoulders off.

"Mickey's tucked up in bed. Good thing I didn't get him any tea or he'd not be happy with hot water all over him." Rose pushed a finger to his chest. "And you should be in bed too."

"I know, I know." He whined. "First thing's first."

Rob stared ahead of him. He was sitting where he had fallen on the grating. "What's happened? Did we… crash?"

"With his piloting you'd think so wouldn't you?" Rose said. "More fun that way!"

The Doctor met her eyes and grinned broadly. "Oh yes." He put an affectionate hand to her arm then looked to Rob. "No we haven't crashed, we are in the city center…" He looked at the screen on the console. "Just outside the Center for Research and Development. Prime location I'd say."

Rob drew a breath and nodded, picking himself up off the floor.

"You have the antidote?" The Doctor asked.

"Got it."

"Make sure they study it. They'll understand it and be able to replicate it. You need to make sure that underground facility is completely evacuated. Go in with with hazard suits and take the equipment from the laboratory, fumigate it, then shut it down. The air its self is a breeding ground for the bacteria and enhances the hormones in the air."

The Doctor opened the door and Rob crept out cautiously. They were standing outside a building, which looked like it had been fashioned in the style of Saint Paul's Cathedral except. The buildings around it appeared to be made out of glass and glossy black plated tiles.

"Solar energy." The Doctor explained as Rob stared at the formidable constructions. "They don't all look like that, the city is quite beautiful if it's anything like any of the other planets at this time period."

"It's not the building that's eerie," Rob said looking around. "It's deserted."

"Afraid to come out. This is what Charlotte was working to fix. Now you have the cure. You can bring this planet back to what it once was."

Rob smiled and clutched the vial. "Thank you." He marched to the steps of the building.

The Doctor smiled after him. "Good luck." He retreated back inside and closed the door. Leaning back against he, he looked up and into Rose's eyes.

"And now for you." She said pointedly.

The Doctor groaned. "I'm okay. Really."

"I know you're not. You look like you're about ready to collapse."

The Doctor shook his head and dragged his feet to the console. He walked around it, pulling different levers.

"Now where are we going? You need rest!" Rose said, hands on her hips.

"Powell Estate." He responded. "We _all_ need rest. And though I don't fancy Jackie's reaction to our… situation, I think you need your mum."

* * *

A/N Only one more chapter!

Please review!


	18. Mothering

Ok, please forgive me everyone, this was supposed to be the last chapter but I've sort of gotten carried away with the fluff. So now I'm thinking there will be one more chapter after this one and then probably an epilogue.

Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed the last chapter, I'm so grateful and I hope I managed to respond to everyone!

I'm sorry this took rather long. I've been seriously swamped with my work at university, it's unreal, but I'm at an exciting junction in my life right now and it's taking up all my energy.

Previously: _"And now for you." She said pointedly. _

_The Doctor groaned. "I'm okay. Really." _

"_I know you're not. You look like you're about ready to collapse."_

_The Doctor shook his head and dragged his feet to the console. He walked around it, pulling different levers._

"_Now where are we going? You need rest!" Rose said, hands on her hips._

"_Powell Estate." He responded. "We all need rest. And though I don't fancy Jackie's reaction to our… situation, I think you need your mum." _

_

* * *

  
_

Chapter 18: Mothering

The TARDIS shuddered to a halt and the Doctor stumbled back against the foam seat beside the console. He leaned back against it, his eyes half closed. The swelling from his black eye had travelled to puff up his cheekbone and his split lip was tender and so red that its contrast with his white flesh made Rose flinch when she approached him.

"Mickey's still sleeping." Now dressed in grey pajama bottoms and a white camisole, Rose slipped a knee on to the seat, pulling herself up and on level with the Doctor. She put a hand to his forehead and pulled his bangs up. "You're warm. You're never warm like this."

The Doctor glanced at her then looked back at the console. "My body is healing itself. The temperature is the byproduct of the amount of energy it's requiring to heal, not to worry."

Rose drew one hand through his bangs and her other through the hair at the back of his head. She dragged her fingers with gentle pressure in patterns across his head. Perspiration caused his hair to stand on end when her fingers preened him.

The Doctor closed his eyes and groaned. "Why haven't I made you do this to me before? Should have been your number one rule aboard the TARDIS: always play with the Doctor's hair whenever possible."

"Oh but you know I always break your rules." Something in her low, breathless voice caused him to open his eyes.

She raised herself onto her knees so she could take his head in her arms. She pressed him to her breasts and the Doctor wrapped his arms around her, inhaling her scent in deep even breaths.

The pressure of her hold and the feel of her flesh against his cheek delivered an overwhelming sense of calm that seemed to radiate from her loving hold. She firmly kissed his head and he stroked a hand down her back more to keep himself awake and moving than anything else. "Mmm…Have I told you, you will be a fantastic mother some day? You've got the motherly instincts." He pressed a kiss to the flesh that began the curve of her breast. "Blimey."

Rose shuddered as his breath ghosted over her and suddenly wished fervently for a lewdly low neckline. Better yet, she corrected herself, no shirt at all.

"Said someday will be here sooner than I thought it would." The Doctor continued. He stiffened suddenly and pulled away from her, looking up into her eyes with barely concealed fear. "An alien has abducted and impregnated you."

"Come again?"

"Your mum will have a field day!"

"Don't worry about mum, she'll come around."

The Doctor paled visibly. "Rose."

"Don't worry!"

He clutched her shoulders firmly, his eyes intense. "Rose!"

"Well, okay, she might be a bit surprised at first but—"

He lowered his voice dropping his hands down to cover his pride. "Rose, she'll _castrate_ me before she comes around! I'll never be able to reproduce again in this body, I'll have to die before I can, and who knows, maybe I'll regenerate with out the proper equipment, it's a dodgy enough process as it is. I could regenerate with no head or legs! I'll probably end up dying from Jackie's inflicted pain then regenerate…. Rose." He stared at her seriously. "I am going to die and regenerate as a blob with no balls."

Rose couldn't help the laugh that pushed through her tightly clamped lips but the Doctor still stared at her seriously. She put both hands on his shoulders. "My mum won't castrate you. It's probably against the rules of conservation of endangered species." She slid off the seat and took his hand. "Come on!"

"Do I have to come?"

"I won't tell her yet. You can't turn down good old fashioned motherly care, can you?"

The Doctor took her waist with both hands and drew her into another hug. "But I can get that right here, Mummy."

Rose entangled herself from his arms and found that he was leaning heavily against her. "Are you hugging me because you want to, or because you can't stand on your own?"

"Both?"

"Come on!"

* * *

"Mum, open up!"

Jackie Tyler, clothed in a dressing gown and a befuddled expression, threw open the door. "It's half three in the bleeding morning! You've got a time machine!"

"Mum, the Doctor's not feeling well, we got here when we got here." Rose hugged her mother and pulled the Doctor in after her.

"Not feeling well?" Jackie took the Doctor's face with both hands, squishing his cheeks. "What's happened to you sweetheart? You're all banged up by the look of it!"

The Doctor tried to speak but found he couldn't form coherent words while Jackie treated his face like Time Lord putty.

"Mum, quit it!"

"I'll get you some tea! Oh you poor man." She pinched his cheek then turned to the kitchen. "Where's Mickey?" She shouted from in the kitchen.

Rose shut the door and gave the Doctor an apologetic smile. "He's in the TARDIS. He's sleeping, didn't want to bother him. Left him a note."

The Doctor found the sofa quickly and flopped onto it with a sigh while Rose fetched the first aid kit.

"Here you are." Jackie settled the cup before him and the Doctor smiled his thanks. "No witty remark about my tea? So quiet! You _must_ not be well, Doctor!"

"Leave him _alone_ mum!" Rose dabbed a cotton ball in iodine and approached his cut lip. "Hold still." She leaned over the back of the couch and held his forehead with one hand.

"Rose, no, really, I'm fine-ah!" He yelped as she pressed the stinging solution to the cut.

"Not finished yet!" Rose reprimanded when he squirmed.

"There's no where to go, big fella, you're between two Tylers now." Jackie held his knee from her position on the couch beside him.

"Talk about a rock and a hard place." Muttered the Doctor before cringing when the cotton ball moved to the inflamed region around his cheekbone and eye.

"Almost done." Rose found a moist towel to clean his face.

"I'm not a child." The Doctor grumbled as she scrubbed blood and dirt from his face.

"You know you love it." Rose said with a grin.

"Oh, I know just what you need, back in a jiffy!" Jackie bustled from the room and Rose took her spot. She reached a hand up to touch her finger tips to his face.

"I like taking care of you." She said softly. "You look so tired."

The Doctor brushed her hair back behind her ear and made to lean forward when Jackie's voice broke the silence. "Here you go, Doctor, drink up!"

Half asleep, the Doctor reached obediently for the glass, his eyes full of trust.

"Wait! Doctor, don't!" Rose shouted and the Doctor paused. "It's not aspirin, is it?"

"Well, yeah, it's pm in hot lemon water, help him sleep well."

"Mum, he's allergic!"

"Well how was I supposed to know that?" Jackie tore the glass from the Doctor's bemused hands and poured it down the drain. She returned with her hands on her hips. "You're all out of sorts, Doctor! I've never seen you tired."

The Doctor's eyes closed and his head slowly sank onto Rose's shoulder.

"Oh my God," Jackie gasped. "He didn't drink my tea."

Rose stroked the side of his face as he leaned on her shoulder. "Doctor?" She said quietly, aware of how close she was to his ear. "Do you want to go back to the TARDIS to sleep, love?"

He mumbled something incoherently and shook his head.

Jackie put a hand to the Doctor's shoulder. "Bless. He can have the spare room again. I'll go tidy up!"

"You don't need the TARDIS? Are you sure?" Rose persisted.

"Just sleep."

Rose was satisfied to get two syllables from him. She felt his even, heavy breathing ruffle the hair on the back of her neck and draw goose bumps on her skin.

"Here you are, same ones from Christmas." Jackie handed over the pin-striped pajamas.

"Howard's not still coming over, is he?" Rose said, taking the pajamas with one hand and stroking the Doctor's hair idly with the other.

"Well, first he just walks right in, uninvited mind you, with his dressing gown folded over his arms, then he goes over the fridge and pulls out a couple of grapefruit, says they need to feel heavy in the hand when ripe and I'm sure he's suggesting—"

"Help me with him, mum? Before he's completely asleep?"

"I _am_ completely asleep." The Doctor opened one bleary eye.

"Never mind your old mum chatting away." All the same, Jackie helped Rose lift the Doctor to his feet.

"Use your legs, Doctor, just a couple steps." Rose coaxed, pulling his arm around her neck.

"I'm asleep!" he insisted.

Rose muttered into his ear. "Oh, well then if your asleep, I can just have my mum get you into those pajamas and tuck you in bed, then, shall I? I _know_ you're commando—"

"I'm awake, I'm _awake_."

"Oi, I helped with that last time," Jackie helped Rose lead him to the bedroom. "Nothing I haven't seen before, you look human enough!"

"I think I might be sick." The Doctor squirmed out of their hold and flopped face down on the bed.

"He's not being sick on that bed, I'll—"

"Mum, he's asleep." Rose knelt down beside him. The Doctor gave her a surreptitious wink.

"Do you need help with him?"

"No, Mum, he's fine, I've got it."

"All right, all right, I know when I'm not wanted." Jackie kissed Rose's cheek. "Nice to see you love, get some rest, yourself, your sheets are clean."

"Thanks mum."

Rose waited until the door closed.

The Doctor opened his eyes and reached to pull his coat off. "Thank goodness for that. I know she means well but, blimey."

Rose helped him out of his coat and jacket and he rolled over onto his back with a moan.

He stared up at the ceiling while Rose removed his tie and fussed with the buttons of his blood stained shirt. "This should be a…thing. We should do this more often, you slowly undress me while I lay here not moving and making it more difficult."

Rose smirked and pulled his tie out from under his neck, continuing to unbutton his shirt. She hesitated, then swung a leg over to straddle his hips.

"Oh." The Doctor stared at her in surprise as she released another button of his shirt and softly kissed the newly exposed skin. "What are you doing?" He said stupidly as she pulled his shirt out of his trousers and began to deliver the same treatment to the lower buttons.

Rose ignored the heat that began to burn in her cheeks, determined not to let her embarrassment show. She released another button and slicked her tongue down the trail of hair that led south.

The Doctor squirmed and his breathing hitched. "Rose… Please."

She grinned to herself and opened another button.

"No, seriously, Rose, stop. _Stop_!"

Rose pulled back, mortified at his rejection. "I'm…I'm sorry." She was shaking as she drew her leg over him and sat away from him, staring at the door.

"I… just not now, okay?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's not that I don't want to."

Rose whipped around then narrowed her eyes, her vision darting from his face to the remaining line of buttons on his shirt. Faster than blinking, she spun and tore the remaining buttons. She gasped. "I knew it. You're hurt. I _knew_ you were hiding something. You didn't want me to find out."

She traced her hands an inch from the horrific bruising he sported over one side of his ribs, unsure of how to proceed. Beneath the skin, the blood of the bruise had spread nearly across his midline and stretched far over his side to his back. "Oh, Doctor." She whispered as she carefully drew his flaccid arms from the shirt. She felt tears prickle the corner of her eyes and rubbed at them furiously.

He let her draw his weak arms free of the shirt, his eyes trained on her as she stared at his ribs. "Only a few broken. I'll be fine."

"How?"

"Mickey gave a good beating while I was down."

"You weren't going to tell me." She accused him, tearing her eyes from his ribs and delivering a piercing glare.

"I…Well, I didn't think I needed to." He winced as he tried to sit up but Rose held a firm hand to his shoulder, pushing him back onto the pillow.

She was all business and cold determination suddenly. She unfurled the folded pajama shirt and pulled his arm into it. He stared at her with large eyes as she picked his upper body up slightly, one hand up and around the back of his neck to support his head and pull the shirt around him, then pushed his other arm into it. She fastened two buttons near the center than unzipped his trousers and pulled them off. She continued to ignore his gaze as she tugged the pajama bottoms up and over his hips.

"Rose… I'm sorry."

Rose turned her back on him as she folded his clothes into an unnecessarily neat pile at the end of the bed.

"Truly, I am."

She folded his tie and smoothed a hand down the silky fabric, staring at the faint paisley pattern. "You promised me you would tell me when you were hurt. You nearly died before, Doctor, and you wouldn't tell me until it was nearly too late." She turned to face him and was ashamed to feel a tear on her cheek.

"I know." He drew his legs up slowly and painfully, his bare feet dragging pleasantly against the soft material of the comforter. He raised his body to draw the sheet back, but fell back with a gasp of pain.

Rose hurried to him and helped him draw the covers out and over him.

He sighed contentedly as he settled into the soft mattress. "Stay with me?"

"If my mum sees us…"

"She's going to find out eventually." The Doctor pointed out.

She couldn't resist the invitation. With an automatic glance at the door, she nodded and slipped in.

As soon as she was under the covers, the Doctor clung to her, kissing her shoulder, then her neck. He drew the strap of her tank down and slipped a hand beneath it to grasp her breast firmly.

Rose gasped. "Doctor… you can't possibly want to. You're exhausted, you're in pain, and _my mum is next door._"

The Doctor gyrated his hips against her and slung a leg over her in a half-hearted attempt to mount her. "Then we'll be very, very quiet."

"Doctor, no." She put a hand to the center of his chest and pushed him back.

He fell back against the pillow and groaned.

"Lets wait until you're healthy, yeah?" She adjusted her camisole and settled on her side against him. "Go to sleep, you need it." She laid her arm gently against him and stroked his chest soothingly.

She watched as his eyes closed.

"I love you." She whispered as she felt his chest rise and fall slowly beneath her hand. "I know you won't answer that, maybe never, but I want you to know that I understand why, and I don't need to hear it." She kissed his chin lightly and settled her head down to sleep.

She felt his hand stroke her arm before coming to rest on her wrist.

* * *

When Rose woke, she was initially confused as to her location. The rattling noise that woke her persisted and she raised her heavy head to find herself staring blearily at her mother.

"Came to bring the Doctor a cuppa. Didn't expect him to have company." She raised her eyebrows and Rose looked down to see the Doctor's pajama clad limbs tangled with hers, and his face pressed into her neck. Something cold slid down her neck. "He's drooling on you. If that's not love, I don't know what is." Jackie put the mug of tea down on the bedside table and turned to leave.

"Mum, wait." She disentangled herself from the Doctor and gently replaced his head on the pillow. His mouth closed reflexively as he swallowed, then opened again against the pillow.

The Doctor shifted half sleep and vaguely registered a nearby door closing, shortly followed by breaking glass and Jakie's shrill voice. He was so sleepy he couldn't have cared less. He rolled over and fell back into sleep.

* * *

When the Doctor finally woke he felt centuries younger. He stared up at the ceiling with a satisfied smile. Drawing his arms above his head he stretched from head to toe before wincing slightly at the pull at his healing ribs. He sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes.

"I actually think he's perfect for it. I mean, who better?"

The Doctor's ears pricked and he looked to the door, hearing snatches of the conversation.

A male voice muttered something in coherent.

"Oh shut it Mickey."

"But he's not human." Jackie's voice sounded finite. "He's an alien, Rose. An alien abducted and impregnated you. Doesn't that worry you a little, sweetheart?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I trust him, mum. I trust him more than anything and he's the only man I could ever imagine wanting children with anyway."

"Only he's not a man, he's an alien." Mickey's voice interjected.

"Mickey, just because he's an alien doesn't mean he isn't a man." Rose's voice was exasperated.

"Yes, and Rose should know." Jackie's voice was testy.

"_Mum!"_

The Doctor groaned and swung his legs over the bed. "Time to face the music." He muttered and stood. He wiggled his toes in the carpet for a moment, adjusting to his bearings. He grinned slightly as the thick carpet tickled his toes and crossed the room the door. When he opened the door, Jackie stood beside the couch in the living room, Rose and Mickey seating on it.

"Speak of the Devil." Jackie glowered at him and the Doctor wiped his carpet induced smile from his face as she marched toward him. He gulped.

* * *

A/N So there it is for now! Sorry for the slow chapter. I hope you guys are ok with fluff. I like writing it but I really hope you enjoy reading it. I had planned for the final chapters to be pretty fluffy to make up for all the trauma I've given 10/rose haha. Please let me know if you'd like more or less of it because I can certainly adjust.

Please review!


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